Pulaski County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,855. The county seat is Hawkinsville.

History

Pulaski County was created by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on December 13, 1808, from a portion of Laurens County. In the antebellum years, it was developed for cotton cultivation and is part of the Black Belt of Georgia, an arc of highly fertile soil. In 1870, Dodge County was partially created from a section of Pulaski County by another legislative act. In 1912, the northeastern half of Pulaski County was used to create Bleckley County via a constitutional amendment approved by Georgia voters. The county was named for Count Kazimierz Pułaski of Poland who fought and died for United States independence in the American Revolutionary War. The county population fell by more than half from 1910 to 1930, as residents moved to cities. African Americans especially joined the Great Migration to northern and midwestern cities, both to gain work and to escape the Jim Crow racial oppression of the South.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 251 sqmi, of which 249 sqmi is land and 2.2 sqmi (0.9%) is water. The entirety of Pulaski County is located in the Lower Ocmulgee River sub-basin of the Altamaha River basin.

Major highways

U.S. Route 129 Alternate U.S. Route 129 Business U.S. Route 341 Business

Adjacent counties

Communities

City

Unincorporated community

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 9,855 people, 3,687 households, and 2,479 families residing in the county.

Government and infrastructure

Pulaski County is one of only a handful of counties in Georgia with the sole commissioner form of county government, in which the county is governed by a single elected official. Georgia is the only state that permits this form of government. In 2018, Jenna Mashburn was elected to the office of sole commissioner. The Georgia Department of Corrections operates the Pulaski State Prison in Hawkinsville.

Politics