The county seat was located at Newbern until the courthouse was destroyed by fire on Nov. 27, 1893. A controversy developed between the residents of Newbern, Pulaski and Dublin over where the county seat should be located. Elections were held twice to determine the final location of the county seat. The results of the second election ended up in the State Court of Appeals. In March 1895, the court ruled in favor of the Town of Pulaski as the new county seat and a new courthouse was built there of Peak Creek sandstone.

On Dec. 29, 1989, a fire at the Pulaski County Courthouse left only the stone walls standing. The idea of moving the county seat was again raised. After much discussion and debate, the citizens voted by referendum to finance rebuilding the courthouse in the Town of Pulaski. Construction was completed in December 1992.

A massive, triple archway was built of Peak Creek stone in 1907 and shipped to Norfolk to form a gateway to the Pulaski County Exhibits at the Jamestown Exposition in Norfolk. At the close of the exposition, the archway was taken down, brought back to downtown Pulaski and erected in front of the courthouse square as its new entranceway. It will play an important role in the Jamestown 2007 celebration, as well.

In 1884, the Norfolk & Western Railway built Maple Shade Inn with a design similar to the current Hotel Roanoke. During its heyday the Inn could house 150 travelers, many of whom stopped to enjoy the summer climate and resorts in Pulaski County. In 1963, the Maple Shade Inn was leveled and, in its place, owner Thomas J. McCarthy Sr. developed Pulaski’s first shopping center, which included a large Rose’s Five and Dime, People’s Drug, and Kroger.

In October 1918, Spanish flu hit the town, killing 92 people in just a few weeks.

Historic Calfee Park, home of the minor league Pulaski BlueJays, is the oldest minor league baseball park in the Appalachian League and 9th oldest minor league baseball park in use in the United States. It was built in 1935 by the WPA workforce and named after Pulaski’s mayor at the time, Ernest W. Calfee.

Players who called Calfee Park home on their way to the Major Leagues include David Justice, Javy Lopez, Mark Wohlers, Mike Stanton, Jeff Blauser, Steve Avery, Jason Schmidt, Brad Clontz, Kevin Mench, Colby Lewis, Kameron Loe, Sam Narron, Mike Lamb and Aaron Harang.

Pulaski made national headlines on April 27, 1956, when a gas explosion demolished the Valley View Apartments on the corner of Commerce and Valley Streets. The blast killed 11 people, including three children. The destroyed building, a former Loan and Trust Building, was quickly removed and with it one of the last remnants of Pulaski’s first commercial district.

Italian stone masons built the walls that line the Peak Creek Channel through Downtown Pulaski. The walls are an engineering marvel — put in place without mortar in 1882.