Driving through Pulaski last week, I was saddened to see the old Pulaski Hotel in ruins. According to the Statesboro Herald, it was lost to fire on 27 March 2021. The hotel was one of the first structures built by the Franklin family when they established the town in 1900.
I made this photograph of the hotel in 2009.
The Bruton [the spelling was changed to Brewton in 1895] and Pineora Railway ran a line from Brewton to Register in 1900 and H. L. (Leonard) Franklin, who owned much of the surrounding land, established the town of Pulaski soon thereafter. The depot was built at this time but would have most likely been identified as a Central of Georgia facility since the larger line controlled the Brewton and Pineora and owned them outright by 1901.
Fay Stapleton Burnett writes: Home of the late Mildred Sanders, a friend of my Mother, Sue Nell Jones Stapleton. I remember visiting this house many times as a child growing up on Rosemary Church Road……
Christine McNeill writes: This is the Patrick-McNeill House built in 1908 by the town doctor, C.Z. Patrick. The southeastern front bedroom served as his first medical office and routine surgeries were originally performed on the dining room table.
This is now the Elko Cast Stone Company. It’s about the only remaining historic commercial structure from Elko’s heyday.
This Eclectic Victorian is the most visible landmark in Pulaski. Christine McNeill writes: Now, a private residence, this was originally the hotel in Pulaski. Located across the street from the railroad, train tickets were purchased inside in the front room.
The hotel was one of the first structures built by the Franklin family when Pulaski was established in 1900. At its peak, anchored by the turpentine industry, the little community supported warehouses, general stores, a cotton gin, pharmacy, shoe store, and barber shop.
Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian Brown 