Hawkinsville, the county seat of Pulaski County, was incorporated December 2, 1830. The city, nicknamed “City of Thirteen Highways”, is named after Colonel Benjamin Hawkins, a soldier in the Revolutionary War and U.S. Senator from North Carolina.

Hawkinsville is home to one of the largest harness racing training facilities in the country. The town has had a long history of horse racing, and celebrates the Hawkinsville Harness Horse Festival every spring.