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On Christmas Eve of 1865, seven young Confederate veterans gathered here to start a social club they called the Ku Klux Klan. This "club" was birthed out of the chaos of post-Civil War Tennessee, as the founding young men grappled with a new social order meaning the end of a slave society and a badly broken planter class. Soon other "dens" of the Ku Klux Klan spread across middle Tennessee and to other former Confederate states, and their activities escalated into domestic terrorism as they committed acts of violence and murder against newly freed African-Americans and their property.The owner of the building at the time was Judge Thomas McKissack Jones, whose home Hawthorne Villa was the headquarters for U.S. General Dodge during the U.S. occupation of Pulaski and the execution of Sam Davis.The Klan officially disbanded in 1872, though it was re-founded in 1915 at Stone Mountain, Georgia.This site was later the law office of Tennessee Governor John C. Brown.In 1917, the United Daughters of the Confederacy installed a plaque on this building commemorating it as the founding site of the KKK. For many years, members and followers of the KKK would make pilgrimages to this site.In 1989, in response to this distasteful attention, the building's owners (the Massey family) turned the UDC plaque around and re-mounted it to the building showing only the blank back face of the plaque. That year, during the KKK's planned pilgrimage to Pulaski, more than 180 Pulaski businesses closed to deny services to these unwanted visitors.

A drawing of the interior of the Judge Thomas McKissack Jones law office circa 1865

The exterior of the Judge Thomas McKissack Jones law office, circa 1995

The Judge Thomas McKissack Jones law office has gained notoriety as the founding site of the hate group the Ku Klux Klan. This cream-colored brick building with dark red trim hosted the founding meeting of the KKK in December of 1865. At other times it has served as law offices for many other local lawyers including Tennessee Governor John C. Brown, and as the site of the first Giles County Museum, organized by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.(see below for additional information)

Judge Thomas McKissack Jones Law Office

Created by the Giles County Historical Society

In 1809, following the 1806 cession of Cherokee lands north of the Tennessee River to the United States government, the General Assembly appointed five commissioners to select a site for the seat of newly formed Giles County. The act required that the site be on Richland Creek and near the center of the county. The commissioners surveyed the land of what is now Pulaski and divided it for auction. By 1810, a log courthouse stood at the center of the town square.The second courthouse was a log building covered with wide boards which burned in 1814.The third courthouse was of Federal style, completed around 1815. It was razed in 1850 and the fourth courthouse was completed in 1852.The fourth courthouse, completed in 1852, survived the Civil War and is pictured in this entry. It burned in 1907.The fifth and current courthouse was completed in 1908.

The current courthouse, completed in 1909, is the fifth to sit at this location. A courthouse has sat at this location since 1811, with two of the five courthouses succumbing to fire. The interior of the current courthouse features lovely details and an operational bell in the cupola.The surrounding commercial district is comprised of buildings dating from the 1860s to the 1930s, exhibiting a range of architectural styles.(see below for additional information)

Pulaski Courthouse Square

The northwest corner of 2nd street and Madison Street has been vacant since 2001, but was known as Kuhn's corner for over a century. Thomas Martin was an early owner of the lot and had a dry good store there. A later owner was named Kuhn, thus the name. The name stuck with the corner as it became home to a dry good store, a cabinet shop, a drug store, a grocery, and a garage. Later it would be home to the WKSR radio station. In 2001, a c. 1890 brick building located on this lot collapsed and it has been vacant ever since.

The northwest corner of 2nd street and Madison Street has been vacant since 2001, but was known as Kuhn's corner for over a century. Thomas Martin was an early owner of the lot and had a dry good store there. A later owner was named Kuhn, thus the name. It is also referred to as "Coon's" corner.(see below for additional information)

Old Kuhn's Corner

(South to North)Kuhn's Corner, southern corner (see contributing entry)Gov. John C. Brown's Law Office/Giles Chamber, 110 N. 2nd St.<ul><li>Built in 1869</li><li>In 1870, John C. Brown moved his practice to this location. In this year, Brown was elected Governor, and Martin College was founded. Brown's office was on the top floor and the ground floor was a grocery.</li><li>In 1880, became a furniture store which also sold coffins.</li><li>In 1900, a fire damaged but did not destroy the rear of the building, along with its neighboring building the Arlington Hotel.</li><li>In 1910, became the Coca-Cola bottling plant.</li><li>In 1942, the Pulaski Citizen operated out of the building until 1965.</li><li>After that, it was a bookstore, an antique store, and a restaurant.</li><li>In 2002, the Giles County Chamber of Commerce &amp; Tourism purchased the building and has used it as their offices since then. Today, they operate the Makeshift co-working space out of the building.</li></ul>Vacant spot - Hotel Richland Plaza/St. Giles Hotel, 118 N. 2nd St.<ul><li>From the 1860s to the 1960s, the N&amp;D Railroad brought passenger trains to Pulaski on a regular basis, in addition to our location as a crossroads of two major highways. Pulaski had a need for fine hotels for travelers!</li><li>The Tennessee House Hotel was built next door to the current vacant lot in the 1830s and covered four lots north from there.</li><li>The Alamo House Hotel opened in 1873 in the current vacant lot, but a fire in 1877 destroyed both the Alamo House and the Tennessee House.</li><li>The St. Giles Hotel opened in 1878. It was 3 stories, 23 bedrooms, with a dining room, bar, billiards room, and flushing toilets! It was in the space that is a present-day vacant lot, plus used the top stories of adjoining buildings and expanded into the space behind the block. At various times it was known as the Arlington Hotel, the Linden House, and then the St. Giles again by 1910.</li><li>From 1919-1937, the Richland Hotel operated in this location.</li><li>In 1945, it became the Hotel Richland Plaza. That hotel closed in the early 1960s and became apartments before being used by some other businesses.</li><li>In October 1986 the building was demolished and the lot has been vacant since.</li><li>In 2019, Leadership Giles organized the mural that is currently there.</li></ul>Bannister Hall/Sam Davis Theater/Jail (north side of the block), 183 N. 2nd St.<ul><li>The north side of the block was once the location of the Giles County jail, from the 1840s through the Civil war. Sam Davis and the other Coleman Scouts were jailed there before Sam's hanging. The jail burned down during the Civil War and was relocated to the site of today's City Hall on S. 1st St.</li><li>Beginning in 1869, this lot was the site of the Bannister Hall building.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">The upstairs was a large space that served as a meeting space for the YMCA and other organizations. The Church of Christ also met there before they had their own building. There was also a theater upstairs at one time.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">The downstairs was a wholesale grocery, a dry goods store, and a clothing store. It was also home to the Cohen Bros. store, one of several successful businesses in Pulaski run by Jewish families in the late 19th and early 20th century.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">There was once a post office in the basement.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">Bannister Hall was sold in 1936 and demolished in 1938.</li><li>The Sam Davis Theater opened on this site in October of 1938 with modern decor, seating 600 people.</li><li class="ql-indent-1">The Sam Davis Theater was segregated. In the announcement for the theater's opening, they wrote that "at the rear of the balcony, divided from the front by a rail and with a separate entrance from the street, is a section reserved for colored people, who enter the theater from a door opening on West Jefferson Street. There is a separate lobby and restrooms for colored people."</li><li class="ql-indent-1">Between 1961-1964, the Moon-Glo Drive-In and the Sam Davis Theater were operated by the same company, who would open the drive-in during the summer months and the Sam Davis during the winter. The Sam Davis Theater's last show was in 1964.</li><li>After Sam Davis Theater closed, the Hunter-Smith Furniture Store was on this site.</li><li>The building became the county courthouse annex in 1997 and today is the home of Books &amp; More.</li></ul>

The West side of the square includes many historic buildings despite several fires that have impacted the block. The southern corner of the block was known as "Kuhn's Corner". The block historically included Gov John C. Brown's law office, the St. Giles Hotel, the Bannister Hall building, and the Sam Davis Theater. (see below for additional information)

West Side of Pulaski Square

Pulaski's First United Methodist congregation was founded in 1831 and first met in a building on S. 1st Street.In 1854 the Methodists constructed a brick building at 2nd Street &amp; Washington Street. This building had a bell tower at the front, with a balcony underneath the tower serving as seating for the enslaved congregation before the Civil War.During the Civil War, the building was used as a hospital by United States troops. Another story tells of a Methodist Confederate Army chaplain hiding in the bell tower for several days to avoid capture by U.S. troops during the war.During the war the white congregation ceased to hold their church meetings. However, the black congregation (some enslaved and some recently liberated) were allowed to continue meeting in the church basement on their own. After the war, those congregants formed their own churches, one of which would become today's Campbell's Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church.In 1896, the Methodists finished construction on their red brick building at the northwest corner of the square, on 2nd &amp; Jefferson Streets. They sold their old church building to the Church of Christ, who had previously been meeting in the Bannister Hall building (north end of west side of the square).

Pulaski's First United Methodist congregation was founded in 1831. From the 1850s-1890s, they met in a building on N. 2nd Street &amp; Washington Street. After the Methodists built their current red brick church on the northwest corner of the square, they sold their old building to the 2nd Street Church of Christ congregation, who occupies it to this day.(see below for additional information)

Pulaski First United Methodist Church/2nd Street Church of Christ

The eastern corner of this block was the location of Smith's Tavern, one of the earliest businesses on the square. Capt. Thomas (Tubb) Smith's tavern was operational by 1811 or 1812. In 1814, after the Giles County Courthouse burned, the county court met "at the business house of Thomas Smith" - presumably at this tavern.By 1840 a hotel, the Pulaski Inn, was located at this east corner. By 1850 it was known as the Pulaski Hotel. At this location there were also grocery stores, and the New York Store specializing in clothing for gentlemen &amp; youths.In June of 1872, a fire destroyed the all seven buildings on the north side of the square.In March of 1885, a fire again destroyed the entire north side of the square. It also killed three who were renting sleeping rooms at a saloon and boarding house located in the middle of the block. The block was not rebuilt until 1888.The external staircase on the east side was added to the building in 1897.The Monopole was a pool hall and soft drink parlor on the Northeast corner of the block. It burned two times, in 1914 and 1918.This block was home to saddlery and harness shops, buggy shops, clothing and dry good stores, Harwell's Clothing, the Hagan Bros. Drug Store, &amp; cafes.

The north side of the Pulaski square has been home to hotels, taverns, pool halls, saddlery and harness shops, buggy shops, clothing and dry good stores, the Hagan Bros. Drug Store, &amp; cafes. This block burned two times, in 1872 &amp; 1885. The several blocks northward between here and the intersection of 1st &amp; 2nd Streets was historically a district with harness shops, buggy shops, and livery stables (to leave your horse while in town, or to rent a horse if needed). After the advent of motor vehicles, many of these businesses converted into auto body, auto repair, &amp; mechanic shops.(see below for additional information)

North Side of Pulaski Square 

Odd Fellows Hall - 100 W. Jefferson St., northeast corner of Jefferson St. &amp; 1st St.<ul><li>The Grand United Order of Odd Fellows is the African-American counterpart to the Order of Odd Fellows, a fraternal group. The GUOOF was a fraternal group complete with regalia and ranks, and also offered insurance benefits to its members in an era when African-Americans were often denied life and burial insurance. The first GUOOF lodge in Tennessee was established in 1872 in Memphis.</li><li>The GUOOF lodge in Pulaski was located on the upper floor of this building in 1891, according to the Sanborn Fire Insurance Map.</li><li>By the 1910s, the GUOOF had a national membership of over 300,000, representing more than 11% of all African-American men.</li><li>This building is currently home to People's Choice Realty.</li></ul>North corner of East side of square<ul><li>Once home to First National Bank, from its founding in 1937 until 1986. Previously it had been home to the Commerce Bank.</li></ul>Reeve's Drug Store, 125 N. 1st St.<ul><li>Reeve's Drug Store opened in 1893, and soon moved to its present-day medical supply space where it stayed until 1982, when it expanded into its present-day location. It is still open today serving as a pharmacy, deli, and ice cream shop.</li><li>Other drug stores on the square included the Dickson-Ragsdale Drug Co. on the west side of the square, and Loyd Drug Store on the south side of the square.</li></ul>Union Bank, 107 S. 1st St.<ul><li>The Union Bank building is the empty facade on the block southeast of the square on S. 1st St. When this space burned, they relocated to the current county annex/Truist Bank building.</li><li>This bank was originally located underneath Antoinette Hall, where the Pierchowski law office is located today.</li></ul>

The East side of Pulaski's square has long been home to thriving businesses and community institutions. The Antoinette Hall Opera House has been the centerpiece of this block since its erection in 1868. (See contributing entry on Antoinette Hall.) This block was rebuilt in 1868 after a fire destroyed the entire east side of the square.(see below for additional information)

East Side of Pulaski Square

The Antoinette Hall Opera House, located in Pulaski, was built in 1868 after a fire destroyed the east side of the courthouse square earlier that year. In June, the Antoinette’s founder, Mr. Angenol Cox, proposed the opera hall to replace a large area of the burned buildings. The hall, which was the first building constructed after the fire, opened on December 25. M. D. LeMoine, an architect from Nashville, designed the opera house to hold two businesses on the first floor and theater space on the second, creating a multipurpose building for the Pulaski community. In April of 1869, the new opera hall received its official moniker, the Antoinette, in honor of Cox’s wife.  Antoinette Hall became the center of community and culture for the town. It hosted traveling acting troupes, comedians, musicians, minstrel shows, vaudeville acts, lectures from local and traveling scholars, and high school and college graduation ceremonies. Among the acts appearing at the venue was Blind Tom Wiggins, a formerly enslaved performer who was famous for his piano playing and composition. The site also played host to large dinner celebrating the opening of Campbell's Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church. In December 1893, manager A. M. Notgrass announced that he would not be opening the opera house after the season finished. Though the opera house had no manager, the community continued to use the space for graduation exercises and theatre companies continued to perform in the space. A year later Notgrass decided to take the lease again and, in 1896, management painted the hall, installed 200 new seats with elevated rear seating, and a new drop curtain. Business continued steadily through the remainder of the 1890s.In the 1900s, financial problems started to put stress on the opera house. It changed hands several times before passing to Andrew L. King in 1904. Notgrass remained the manager and the change in ownership proved positive for the financial success of the opera house. King and Notgrass continued to work together for the next three decades and kept the opera house seats filled by offering contracted talent. In 1927, a local group formed the Local Theatre Guild, the success of which attracted national attention. During the 1930s, the Antoinette only featured performances by the Guild. With the growth of motion pictures, however, attendance to live theater performances declined and the Antoinette closed its doors forever in the late 1930s. The opera house remained empty for almost ninety years. Recently, community members have joined together in an effort to preserve and restore the Antoinette in hopes of bringing this once thriving community asset back to life.

Antoinette Hall was a theater built shortly after the Civil War. It provided a place for both amusement and community gatherings and became an integral part of Pulaski's culture.(see below for additional information)

Antoinette Hall

Sam Davis was a Private in the Confederate Army from Smyrna, Rutherford County, Tennessee. Early in 1863, Sam became a member of "Coleman's Scouts." By 1863, the Union Army occupied much of Middle Tennessee. Sam and his fellow scouts worked behind enemy lines disrupting communications and collecting information on the troop movements of the Union forces for the Confederate Army. Even though they wore Confederate uniforms and traveled with passes signed by Confederate General Braxton Bragg, the Union army considered them spies if captured.Around November 20, 1863 as Sam traveled toward Chattanooga, he was captured by Federal troops near Minor Hill, Tennessee. Sam carried papers that contained critical information on troop movements near Nashville and Pulaski, as well as eleven newspapers and various personal items for General Bragg. Among the papers found concealed on Sam was information that could have only come from the desk of Union General Grenville Dodge. Concerned that one of his own officers was supplying information to the Confederates, Dodge decided to put pressure on Sam to identify his spy. He offered Sam his freedom in exchange for this information. Sam refused, so General Dodge ordered a court martial trial.The court charged Sam with being a courier of mails and of being a spy. Sam admitted to being a courier, but pleaded "Not Guilty" to the charge of spying. The military court convicted Sam Davis on both charges and sentenced him to hanging. When preparing him for the gallows, General Dodge offered Sam one last chance to save his life by revealing the source of the papers he carried. Sam supposedly stated with his last words: "I would rather die a thousand deaths than betray a friend." He was hanged on November 27, 1863 in Pulaski near the site of the Sam Davis Memorial Site on Sam Davis Ave.

The Sam Davis Monument was erected in 1906 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The early 1900s saw the arrival of hundreds of Confederate monuments such as this one in communities across the south, as a post-war generation led by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Sons of Confederate Veterans sought to memorialize the Civil War service of their parents and grandparents in the Confederate Army.(see below for additional information)

Sam Davis Monument

(West to East)People's Bank Building, 108 W. Madison St., southwest cornerBest Theater, 113 W. Madison St.<ul><li>The Best Theater was established in 1909, well before any other theaters in Pulaski, and it cost 5 cents to watch a film. The theater seated 300 people and showed silent films until 1927. The first full-length movie with sound was shown in January 1929, "The Jazz Singer" starring Al Jolson, costing 10 cents per ticket. The first color movie was shown in 1930.</li><li>The owner of the Best Theater didn't have her own popcorn machine, so once the Sam Davis Theater opened (northwest corner of the square) the Best Theater owner would buy popcorn from the Sam Davis theater to sell at her shows!</li><li>The Pigg &amp; Parsons department store replaced the theater, and the theater stage remains to this day in the back of the building.</li></ul>Rost Jewelers<ul><li>Rost Jewelers served Pulaski as a family-owned jewelry store for 94 years, from 1928 to 2022.</li></ul>Loyd Drug Building<ul><li>The first structure on this location was the brick law office of Governor Aaron Venable Brown.</li><li>There have been four fires in this location since 1819.</li><li>There was a drug store in this location from 1879 to 1982, mostly known as the Loyd Drug Store.</li><li>Currently The Clothes Pen children's &amp; women's boutique.</li></ul>Rosenau's Corner (southeast corner)<ul><li>Rosenau was a Bavarian (German) who had served in a Texas Confederate regiment during the Civil War and settled in Pulaski after the war. In 1868 he began selling clothing and dry goods in the southeast corner building, and soon expanded into the building next to him.</li><li>Fires on this block in 1862 and 1878 luckily missed this building.</li><li>Currently C&amp;C Printing.</li></ul>

In 1862, the south side of the square burned, all except the far southeast corner. Another fire swept the block in 1878, burning all of the buildings on the south side except the east and west corners. Many more fires came to this side of the square, but the southeast corner survived them all!(see below for additional information)

Historic Downtown Pulaski Walking Tour

Judge Thomas McKissack Jones Law Office

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources