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Pulaski, Illinois

24 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1931 and the latest in 1987. It stands in Pulaski precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 62976. It stands on Briar Creek. The Survey maps it on the Pulaski quadrangle. 154 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 344 feet above sea level.

Pulaski within Pulaski County

Population over time

2 figures

Pulaski fell from 206 to 154 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2010206
2020154-52 (-25%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

14 surveys from 24 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

4 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Pulaski between 2007 and 2011, burning about 34 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2
Debris and open burning1
Arson/incendiarism1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
1 August 2007Arson/incendiarism8.6 acresIllinois Division of Forestry Resourcesnot named
7 March 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresCypress Creek National Wildlife RefugeRIVER
20 February 2011Debris and open burning4.0 acresCypress Creek National Wildlife RefugeRUN CREEK
20 February 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined20 acresIllinois Division of Forestry ResourcesMAGINEL

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Pulaski County

Mines and quarries near this place

8 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Pulaski: 4 past producers, 2 occurrences, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Fire Clay (Refractory), Clay, Silica. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Absorbent Clay Products PitClayProducer
Burk Mine Tammsco Inc.StonePast Producer
Limestone ProspectStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence
Shawnee Low Interest Refractory Clay DepositFire Clay (Refractory)OccurrenceSedimentary
Unimin Plant & MillSilicaProducer
Jordan Trucking Sand & Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Mise PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Pulaski County Highway DepartmentSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Pulaski County

Storms near this place

21 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Pulaski in 21 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 11 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 4 tornado, 2 flood. The reports record 1 death. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
January 2015FloodPulaski1 killed, $40,000One fatality occurred when a motorist drove around barricades into a flooded area along Sandusky Road. The area is fairly prone to flooding of the Cache River. The vehicle was found completely submerged in Cache River floodwaters. A volunteer fire and rescue squad located the vehicle and the body of the motorist. The body of the female motorist was found in a flooded field about 100 feet from the vehicle. It appeared she may have tried to turn around, and the vehicle ended up in a flooded ditch. The incident was reported by a tow-truck driver who towed a second vehicle out of the floodwater. The driver of the second vehicle got out safely, but the vehicle was almost completely submerged except for a small part of the top.
January 2005Tornado (F1)Pulaski$70,000A grain bin was blown over, and about a half dozen sheds and outbuildings were damaged or destroyed. Numerous trees and large limbs were blown down. An older mobile home was destroyed 3 to 4 miles west of Grand Chain. Peak winds were estimated near 75 MPH. Structural damage was minimal due to the very rural nature of the area.
March 2025Tornado (EF1)Pulaski$50,000An EF-1 tornado began near the Mississippi River just northwest of Fayville in Alexander County and moved east northeast into Pulaski County just northeast of Sandusky. The tornado uprooted and snapped the trunks of numerous trees along its path. A few buildings sustained roof damage. The estimated peak wind was 105 mph. The total path length of the tornado was around 18 miles. A large area of 70-90 mph straight line winds swept just south of the tornado and eventually overtook it as it moved east of Interstate 57. Damage indicative of the 70-90 mph straight line winds continued sporadically into western Massac County.
May 1996Thunderstorm WindPulaski$50,000no account filed
May 2011Tornado (EF1)Pulaski$40,000Mainly tree damage was observed. Some trees were uprooted and snapped. One small shed was damaged. There was minor damage to business roofs in Pulaski. Some straight-line wind damage was observed on the southeast end of the path. Peak winds were estimated near 90 mph. The average path width was 100 yards.
May 2023Thunderstorm WindPulaski$20,000Several trees were down between Pulaski and Mounds. A semi trailer was blown over.
November 2011Thunderstorm WindPulaski$15,000A couple of trees were blown down on U.S. Highway 51, north of Pulaski and north of Ullin. Metal sheeting from a grain bin was blown onto railroad tracks at Pulaski.
March 2025Thunderstorm WindPulaski$10,000Straight line winds tore roof panels off of a barn along Fairground Road at Chapel Hill Road just west of Pulaski. This damage was just south of a tornado track.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindPulaski$7,000A large tree was down. Large limbs were blown down, including one that fell on a car. A trained spotter estimated wind gusts were near 70 mph.
March 2006Thunderstorm WindPulaski$7,000Two barns were damaged, sheds were demolished, and the roof of a trailer addition was blown off.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindPulaski$4,000A tree was blown down, blocking a street. A mailbox was blown off a pole.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindPulaski$4,000Trees were down at scattered locations.
May 2005Thunderstorm WindPulaski$2,000Power lines were blown down on Sandusky Road southwest of Pulaski. Trees were down between Pulaski and Villa Ridge along U.S. Highway 51.
April 2019Tornado (EF0)Pulaski$1,000A couple of large but decayed trees were blown down. Peak winds were estimated near 70 mph.
May 2025HailPulaski-Hail estimated to half dollar size fell east of Pulaski on the north end of a supercell storm. The report was submitted via mPING.
February 2019Thunderstorm WindPulaski-A train struck a fallen tree over the railroad tracks.
March 2015HailPulaski-The hail occurred on Interstate 57 at mile marker 14.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindPulaski-Numerous trees were blown down, including 12 that landed across roadways.
January 2008FloodPulaski-no account filed
May 2006HailPulaski-no account filed
April 2003HailPulaski-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Pulaski County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Pryortown3.4 miles24
Villa Ridge3.8 miles24
Ullin4.5 miles22
Spencer Heights6.0 miles24
North Mounds6.3 miles27
Olmsted6.6 miles25
America6.8 miles25
Mounds6.9 miles27

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on PulaskiAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2671826The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 416278. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.