Pulaski dates to 1886, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 72% of U.S. towns · #54 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it
9 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 663 buildings between them. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1870.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Pulaski’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pulaski is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #54 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pulaski’s overall grade.
Virginia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Virginia town has 3.6 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Pulaski’s 757 sits above most of its state (94% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 673 historic buildings outnumber those of 98% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.3 points). Two sources give 1886.
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Pulaski’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Pulaski was incorporated as a town in 1886. The town was named for Count Casimir Pulaski, a Revolutionary War hero from Poland.
On April 8, 2011, two tornadoes hit Pulaski, which destroyed 31 buildings and damaged 77 others. The tornadoes caused an estimated $1.68 million in damage.
Calfee Athletic Field, Dalton Theatre Building, Pulaski County Courthouse, Pulaski Historic Commercial District, Pulaski Historic Residential District, and Pulaski South Historic Residential and Industrial District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Pulaski’s post office has been open since 1905. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Martin's Station
1870–1884
Pulaski Station
1884–1886
Pulaski City
1886–1905
Pulaski
1905–today
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Calfee Training SchoolschoolCentral Elementary SchoolschoolClaremont Elementary SchoolschoolNorthwood Elementary SchoolschoolPulaski Hospitalhospital
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pulaski
OakwoodPinehurst
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Pulaski’s history
What year was Pulaski founded?
In 1886, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Pulaski’s post office opened in 1870, and the census of 1890 counted 2,112 people here.
How does Pulaski rank for history?
Pulaski is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #54 of 253 in Virginia. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Pulaski?
9 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Dalton Theatre Building (listed 1979, the first), and 3 historic districts, the Pulaski Historic Commercial District, the Pulaski Historic Residential District and the Pulaski South Historic Residential and Industrial District, with 663 contributing buildings. 673 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Pulaski?
13% of Pulaski’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.3 points), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1962.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (9), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1940s
1940s
1940s
