Pulaski County, Arkansas

Pulaski County Education, Geography, and History

Pulaski County is a county in the state of Arkansas with a population of 391,284, making it the most populous county in Arkansas. The county seat is Little Rock, which is also Arkansas's capital and largest city. Pulaski County was formed on December 15, 1818, alongside Clark and Hempstead counties. Pulaski county is named for Count Casimir Pulaski, a Polish volunteer who saved George Washington's life during the American Revolutionary War.

Pulaski County is included in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR Metropolitan Statistical Area which had 724,385 people in the 2013 census estimates.

Etymology - Origin of Pulaski County Name

Pulaski county is named for Kazimierz Pulaski, the Polish general in the American Revolutionary War. Kazimierz Pułaski of Clan Ślepowron often written Casimir Pulaski in English in the USA (March 4, 1746 - October 11, 1779), was a Polish soldier, member of the Polish-Lithuanian szlachta and politician who has been called "the father of American cavalry".

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Pulaski County History

Pulaski county was formed on December 15, 1818, and was one of five counties organized when Arkansas was part of the Missouri Territory. It was named after Count Casimir Pulaski, a Polish soldier credited with saving George Washington's life during the Revolutionary War.  Little Rock is the county seat and the State Capitol. The economic base is largely government and support services. Metropolitan Pulaski County offers many educational and cultural opportunities such as the Arkansas Arts Center, the Museum of Science and History, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and the Little Rock Zoo, which is now entering into a complete renovation program. Pinnacle Mountain State Park, a 1,800-acre environmental park is only 15 miles from Little Rock and offers picnicking, hiking, and canoeing on the Big and Little Maumelle Rivers. The State Capitol, built of Arkansas granite, is a scaled-down replica of the Nation's Capitol. The Old State House, Arkansas' Capitol from 1836 to 1911, except briefly during the Civil War, now houses a museum of Arkansas history. The new reconstruction of the county courthouse has recently been completed and is beautiful. In the large central hall of the 1912 courthouse, twelve imposing statues representing art, justice, agriculture and machinery stand on pedestals supported by sixteen marble columns that ring a two-story rotunda capped with a magnificent stained-glass dome. A large metal bust of Count Pulaski is centered beneath the rotunda on the inlaid marble floor of alternating white and gray radial bands. Every door has large brass fixtures with the seal of the Arkansas Territory engraved on the push plates and "PC" engraved on the doorknobs. This stately 1912 courthouse is visited by hundreds of local people and tourists each year.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 808 square miles (2,090 km²), of which 760 square miles (2,000 km²) is land and 48 square miles (120 km²) (5.9%) is water.

The landscape of the county is rugged terrain western and northern and rolling hills in the southern tip with the Arkansas River Valley delta in the east. Pulaski County is the most populous county in the state.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• North: Faulkner County
• East: Lonoke County
• Southeast: Jefferson County
• South: Grant County
• Southwest: Saline County
• Northwest: Perry County

Education

The Pulaski County Special School District is the county's public school district for 729 square miles (1,890 km²) surrounding Little Rock and North Little Rock, which maintain independent districts. Also the Little Rock School District and North Little Rock School District.

Pulaski Technical College is a two-year community college and technical school that offers seven locations throughout the county, including a flagship campus in western North Little Rock.

Four-year postsecondary institutions include the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, the University of Arkansas System's only metropolitan campus, the United Methodist Church-affiliated Philander Smith College, Arkansas Baptist College, and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences all located in Little Rock.

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