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Tennessee County
Giles County, Tennessee
Pulaski's Ku Klux Klan birthplace and the community's ongoing reckoning - from Pulaski's unavoidable distinction as the city where the Ku Klux Klan was founded in December 1865 (six Confederate veterans meeting in a law office on the Pulaski town square organized what became the most significant terrorist organization in American history - a fact the community has grappled with in complex and sometimes contradictory ways for decades) to Martin Methodist College's historic campus and Giles County's productive southern Tennessee agricultural landscape, and a community that has worked to define itself beyond its most notorious historical association.
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Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Office: Giles County Office of Emergency Management – Director Josh Young | 3750 Columbia Hwy, Pulaski, TN 38478 | (931) 363-1342 | [email protected]; operates the county’s Emergency Operations Center, a Mobile Command Center, backup E911 service, and the Fire Marshal’s office (arson investigation, hazmat response including illegal meth-lab cleanup).
EMS: Giles County EMS – 639 E Madison St, Pulaski, TN 38478 | (931) 363-8505 | [email protected]
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-31 and US-64 serve Pulaski, the county seat, near the Alabama border
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Giles County was created November 14, 1809, named for William Branch Giles, a Virginia senator who sponsored Tennessee’s admission as the 16th state and also sponsored construction of the county’s courthouse – which has burned four times; the current 1909 courthouse is a genuinely striking neoclassical structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with busts in its foyer honoring three native sons who became Tennessee governors (Aaron V. Brown, Neill Smith Brown, and John C. Brown). Pulaski is named for Revolutionary War hero Casimir Pulaski.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Giles County Building/Permits – confirm current contact via gilescountytn.gov.
Notes: Giles County carries significant, complex history that deserves factual treatment. During the Civil War, Sam Davis, a 21-year-old Confederate soldier and member of Coleman’s Scouts, was captured and executed for espionage in Pulaski in 1863 under Union commander Grenville Dodge; his reported last words (“If I had a thousand lives, I would lose them all here before I would betray my friend or the confidence of my informer”) were later memorialized, and a statue of Davis stands on the south side of the Pulaski square. Separately, and more consequentially, Pulaski is documented as the birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan, organized in a local law office in late 1865 or 1866 by six Confederate veterans initially as a social fraternity before it evolved into a violent vehicle of Reconstruction-era intimidation; the original founders reportedly denounced its later violence and the group disbanded by 1869. In recent years, attempted KKK marches in Pulaski have been met with strong community resistance, and the county documents its history – including the Giles County Community Remembrance Project addressing the era’s lynchings – as part of confronting this legacy directly rather than glossing over it.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Giles County Veterans’ Service Officer – 222 West Madison Street, Pulaski, TN 38478 | (931) 363-2063 | Fax: (931) 424-7033 | [email protected] | Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 AM-4:30 PM; coordinates the Giles County Veterans’ Alliance. All services free to veterans, service members, and family members.
State: Tennessee Department of Veterans Services – tn.gov/veteran
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Giles County Public Library – 122 S 2nd St, Pulaski, TN 38478 | (931) 363-2720 | [email protected] | Hours: Monday-Tuesday 9 AM-7 PM, Wednesday-Friday 9 AM-5 PM, Saturday 9 AM-4 PM, Sunday 1 PM-varies; serves roughly 25,000 residents with a collection of over 53,000 volumes.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The 1909 Giles County Courthouse and Sam Davis statue (see above) anchor the town square. The Governor’s One-Shot Turkey Hunt each April is a real, established five-county event drawing hunters statewide. Martin Methodist College (founded 1870, now University of Tennessee Southern) and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Pulaski serve the county’s higher education needs.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Giles County Assessor of Property – confirm current phone via gilescountytn.gov.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Giles County Animal Shelter – 380 Bennett Dr, Pulaski, TN 38478 | General info: (931) 607-0116 | Strays/bites/welfare checks: (931) 363-0911 | [email protected] | Hours: Monday-Friday 10 AM-3 PM, Saturday 10 AM-2 PM, Sunday 12-2 PM; handles homeless, neglected, and stray dogs only (does not accept cats or owner-surrendered dogs). Animal Control Officer is a Giles County Sheriff’s Deputy.
Nonprofit partners: Giles County Humane Association (cats and owner-surrenders) – PO Box 237, Pulaski, TN 38478, a foster-based 501(c)(3); and Lucky’s Cat House (cats).
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Giles County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via gilescountytn.gov.
NOTES: Giles County is the seventh and final county in this batch (Dickson, Dyer, Fayette, Fentress, Franklin, Gibson, Giles) of the Tennessee v2 redo. Pulaski’s history as the birthplace of the KKK is treated here factually and briefly, alongside the county’s documented modern efforts to confront that legacy. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Giles County
Giles County is southern Tennessee’s most historically complex community – home to the birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan and a county that has spent generations navigating the meaning of that origin.
Pulaski (the county seat, population ~7,500) was where six Confederate veterans founded the Ku Klux Klan in December 1865 in a law office on the town square. The organization spread rapidly, and its subsequent history of racial terror, Reconstruction-era violence, and 20th-century revival make it one of the most consequential organizations ever founded in America. Pulaski has hosted ongoing community conversations about how to acknowledge this history while moving forward.
Martin Methodist College (enrollment ~900, United Methodist-affiliated) provides higher education in a community working to define a positive future identity.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Giles County Assessor of Property at 1 Public Square, Suite 3, Pulaski, TN 38478, phone 931-363-2527. No TN income, inheritance, or estate tax.
Courts & Legal
Giles County Chancery Court at 1 Public Square, Pulaski, TN 38478, phone 931-363-5310, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
1 Public Sq, Pulaski, TN 38478
(931) 363-4467
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Giles County Clerk and Master, Pulaski (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above). Note: courthouse fires in 1813, 1857, and 1907 destroyed many early records; marriage records 1809-1865 and probate records 1809-1860 are lost.
Local societies
Giles County TnGenWeb, maintained by county historian/genealogist volunteers, is a confirmed local resource.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Clerk and Master, Giles County 1 Public Square, Pulaski, TN 38478 (931) 363-2620
Giles County is in Middle Tennessee along the Alabama border, seated in Pulaski. Records note the courthouse burned in 1813, 1857, and 1907, damaging many early records; marriage records from 1809-1865 and probate records from 1809-1860 are lost.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Tennessee has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code. Instead, Tennessee uses its own common form and solemn form probate framework, governed by Title 30 of the Tennessee Code Annotated. In Giles County, the Clerk and Master (part of Chancery Court) administers probate.
Small Estate Affidavit (T.C.A. §§ 30-4-101 through 30-4-103) – available when the value of the probate estate does not exceed $50,000 (personal property; real property is generally excluded). The affidavit can be filed no sooner than 45 days after death. A bond payable to the state is commonly required to protect creditors and other heirs, though it is often waived when the person filing is the estate’s sole heir/beneficiary, or when all heirs consent in writing.
Common Form Probate – the standard, uncontested path: the will (if any) is admitted to probate without formal notice to all interested parties, and the personal representative is appointed and issued Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without a will).
Solemn Form Probate – used when formal proof of the will’s validity is needed, typically because of an anticipated will contest; requires notice to all interested parties and a hearing.
Muniment of Title – used to transfer real estate when there is a valid will but no other assets requiring administration.
Step 2: filing for administration
The personal representative (or an interested party) files the original will (if one exists) and a Petition for Probate of Will or Petition for Letters of Administration with the Giles County Clerk and Master.
The court issues Letters Testamentary (testate) or Letters of Administration (intestate), giving the personal representative authority to act.
The personal representative publishes notice to creditors in a local newspaper; creditors generally have a limited window (commonly around 4 months from the notice) to file claims.
The personal representative inventories and appraises the estate’s assets (may be waived by the will or by all beneficiaries).
The personal representative pays valid debts, expenses, and taxes.
The estate is closed with a final accounting (unless waived) and distribution to beneficiaries or heirs.
What it costs
Filing fees vary by county; confirm current fees with Giles County directly.
Tennessee has no statutory fee schedule for attorneys or executors – fees must be “reasonable” and are subject to court approval if contested.
Tennessee does NOT impose a state estate tax or a state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax may apply, and only to very large estates.
Typical timeline for a simple, uncontested estate: roughly 6-9 months.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
111 South 2nd St, Pulaski, TN 38478
(931) 363-3591
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTION COMMISSION
131 South 3rd St, Pulaski, TN 38478
(931) 363-5150
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
132 South 3rd St, Pulaski, TN 38478
(931) 363-2662
DHS Office
132 South 3rd St, Pulaski, TN 38478
(931) 363-3282
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Giles County Health Department – confirm current contact via gilescountytn.gov.
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