Tupelo, Mississippi

Tupelo, Mississippi
Nickname(s): T-Town
Location of Tupelo in Lee County
Coordinates: 34°15′35″N 88°43′33″W
Country	United States
State	Mississippi
County	Lee
Founded
Incorporated	1870
Government
• Mayor	Jack Reed Jr. (R)
Area
• City	67.4 sq mi (133.2 km2)
• Land	51.1 sq mi (132.4 km2)
• Water	0.3 sq mi (0.8 km2)
Elevation	279 ft (85 m)
Population (2010)
• City	37,559
• Density	709/sq mi (274/km2)
• Metro	146,131
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	38801–38804
Area code(s)	662
FIPS code	28-74840
GNIS feature ID	0678931
Website	www.ci.tupelo.ms.us

Students clearing the ruins of the Lee County Training School, a month after the 1936 tornado

Tupelo (/ˈtuːpəloʊ/) is the county seat and the largest city of Lee County, Mississippi. It is also the seventh-largest city in the state. It is situated in northeast Mississippi, between Memphis, Tennessee, and Birmingham, Alabama, and is accessed by U.S. Route 78. As of the 2010 census, the population was 37,559,with the surrounding counties of Lee, Pontotoc and Itawamba supporting a population of 146,131.

The city is best known as the birthplace of Elvis Presley. As an infant in Tupelo in 1936, Presley survived a tornado that was ranked as the fourth deadliest in United States history and killed more than 230 people.

History

European colonization

Indigenous peoples lived in the area for thousands of years, followed by the historical peoples of the Chickasaw and Choctaw, both Muskogean-speaking peoples of the Southeast.

On May 26, 1736 the Battle of Ackia was fought near the site of the present Tupelo; British and Chickasaw soldiers repelled a French and Choctaw attack on the then-Chickasaw village of Ackia. The French, under Louisiana governor Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, had sought to link Louisiana with Acadia and the other northern colonies of New France.

In later times, after years of trading and encroachment, conflicts increased in the early 19th century with European-American settlers. In 1830 Congress passed the Indian Removal Act and authorized the relocation of Native Americans west of the Mississippi River, which was completed by the end of the 1830s.

In the early years of settlement, European-Americans named the town Gum Pond, supposedly due to its numerous tupelo trees, which are locally known as blackgum. The city still hosts the annual Gumtree Arts Festival. The Southern expression, "possum up a gum tree", originated in this area.

Civil War and Post-War development

During the Civil War, a battle between Union and Confederate forces was fought in the area. Designated the Tupelo National Battlefield, the war site is administered by the National Park Service (NPS). In addition, the Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield, about ten miles north, commemorates another Civil War site.

After the Civil War, a cross-state railroad for northern Mississippi was constructed through the town, which encouraged industry and growth. With expansion, the town changed its name to Tupelo, in honor of the battle. It was incorporated in 1870 with a population of 618.^{[citation needed]}

By the early twentieth century, the town had become a site of textile mills, which employed both white adults and children. Reformers documented the child workers and attempted to protect them through labor laws.^{[citation needed]}

The last known bank robbery by Machine Gun Kelly, a Prohibition-era gangster, took place on November 30, 1932 at the Citizen’s State Bank in Tupelo; his gang netted $38,000. After the robbery, the bank’s chief teller said of Kelly, “He was the kind of guy that, if you looked at him, you would never thought he was a bank robber.”

During the Great Depression Tupelo was electrified by the new Tennessee Valley Authority, which had constructed dams and power plants to harness water power throughout the region. In 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt visited this "First TVA City".

The Tupelo tornado

The Spring of 1936 brought Tupelo one of its worst-ever natural disasters. Part of the Tupelo-Gainesville outbreak of April 5–6 in that year, the Tupelo storm struck at night and destroyed large residential areas on the city's north side. One survivor of the storm was Elvis Presley, then a baby. Obliterating the Gum Pond neighborhood, the tornado dropped most of the victims' bodies in the pond. The storm has since been rated F5 on the modern Fujita scale. The Tupelo Tornado ranks as fourth deadliest in U.S. history.^{[citation needed]}

The Tupelo tornado leveled 48 city blocks and over 200 homes, killing 216 people and injuring more than 700 persons. The Mississippi State Geologist estimated a final death toll of 233, but 100 white persons were still hospitalized at the time. Because newspapers published only the names of injured whites, due to a racially discriminatory policy that persisted into the 1940s and 1950s, it was difficult to follow up on the fates of injured blacks. Historians now estimate the death toll was higher than in official records. Fire broke out at the Lee County Training School, which was destroyed. Its bricks were salvaged for other uses.

The area is subject to tornadoes. In 2008 one rated an EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale struck the town.

Current events

In 2007, the nearby village of Blue Springs was selected as the site for Toyota's eleventh U.S. automobile manufacturing plant.

Culture & attractions

• The Tupelo Buffalo Park and Zoo is home to hundreds of animals and a large American bison herd.
• Tupelo is the headquarters of the historic Natchez Trace Parkway, which connects Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee while following the route of the original Natchez Trace trail, an ancient path used by indigenous peoples long before the Europeans came to the area.
• Nearby are the Pharr Mounds, an important Middle Woodland period complex of nearly 2000-year-old burial earthworks, dating from 1 to 200 AD.

Tupelo, Mississippi area map of historic battlefields and sites

• Civil War sites include Tupelo and Brices Cross Roads national battlefields.
• The Tupelo Automobile Museum is one of the largest of this type in North America. In 2003, it was designated the official automobile museum of the state. It houses more than 150 rare automobiles, all from the personal collection of Frank K. Spain, who founded the channel WTVA.
• Since its founding in 1969, the Tupelo Community Theatre has produced more than 200 works. In 2001 and 2004, it won awards at the Mississippi Theatre Association Community Theatre festival. In 2004 its production of Bel Canto won at the Southeastern Theatre Conference. TCT's home is the historic Lyric Theatre, built in 1912.^{[citation needed]}
• The Tupelo Symphony Orchestra's season runs from September–April with concerts held at the Tupelo Civic Auditorium. The symphony's free annual July 4 outdoor concert at Ballard Park draws thousands of fans.
• In 2005, the Rotary Club sponsored a commission for a statue to honor Chief Piomingo, a leader of the Chickasaw people. It was erected in front of the new Tupelo City Hall.
• The Oren Dunn City Museum tells the Story of Community Building through permanent exhibits and a collection of historic structures. The Special Exhibit Gallery provides a venue for a variety of traveling and temporary shows throughout the year.
• In June 1956 Elvis Presley returned to Tupelo for a concert at the Mississippi-Alabama State Fair & Dairy Show. The event was recreated at the eighth "Elvis Presley Festival" in Tupelo on June 3, 2006. The fairgrounds is now part of Tupelo's Fairpark District. The documentary film, The Homecoming: Tupelo Welcomes Elvis Home, premiered at the 2006 festival.
• The Lee County Library has an annual lecture series featuring nationally known authors.
• Built in 1937, the Church Street Elementary School was hailed as one of the most outstanding designs of its time. A scale model of this Art Moderne structure, described as "the ideal elementary school," was displayed at the 1939 New York World's Fair.
• The BancorpSouth Arena opened in 1993 and is a venue for large events.

Government

Tupelo's current mayor is Jack Reed, Jr. The Chairman of the Tupelo City Council is Fred Pitts. The other six council members are Markel Whittenton, Jim Newll, Nettie Davis, Jonny Davis, Mike Bryan, and Willie Jennings. As of December, 2012, Mayor Reed announced that he would not seek reelection to the city's highest office. Chairman of the city council, Fred Pitts, has announced his intentions to run. Attorney Jason Shelton has also announced he is running for Mayor.

Education

Tupelo schools are served by the Tupelo Public School District. The 2008 Tupelo Golden Wave high school baseball team was ranked #1 in the nation for two weeks, and that year Sports Illustrated ranked the high school athletic department as #3 among the top departments in the country.

For post-secondary education, the city has satellite campuses of the University of Mississippi, Itawamba Community College, and the Mississippi University for Women.

Economy

Historically, Tupelo served as a regional transportation hub, primarily due to its location at a railroad intersection. More recently, it has developed as strong tourism and hospitality sector based around the Elvis Presley birthplace and Natchez Trace. The city has also been successful at attracting manufacturing, retail and distribution operations (see 'Industry' section below).

Industry

• Tupelo is the headquarters of the North Mississippi Medical Center, the largest non-metropolitan hospital in the United States. It serves people in North Mississippi, northwest Alabama and portions of Tennessee. The medical center was a winner of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 2006.
• Tupelo is the headquarters of two banking institutions - BancorpSouth, with approximately $11.8 billion in assets (2006), and Renasant, with assets of approximately $4.2 billion (2011).
• The city is a four-time "All-America City Award" winner.
• It has a large furniture manufacturing industry. The journalist Dennis Seid noted that furniture manufacturing in Northeast Mississippi, "provid[ed] some 22,000 jobs, or almost 13% of the region's employment... with a $732 million annual payroll... producing $2.25 billion worth of goods."
• Tupelo had the first Comcast cable system.^{[citation needed]}
• Tecumseh, Furniture Brands International, Hancock Fabrics, Inc., Magnolia Fabrics, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi, H.M. Richards, JESCO Construction, MTD Products, Savings Oil Company (Dodge's Stores), and Cooper Tire & Rubber Company all operate or are headquartered in Tupelo and Lee County.
• Enerkem, a Quebec-based biofuels company, has received a grant/loan from the DOE to build a plant near Tupelo to convert municipal waste into ethanol fuel.

Demographics

Part of the child work force at Tupelo Cotton Mills, May 1911. Photographed by Lewis Hine.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1870	618		—
1880	1,008		63.1%
1890	1,477		46.5%
1900	2,118		43.4%
1910	3,881		83.2%
1920	5,055		30.2%
1930	6,361		25.8%
1940	8,212		29.1%
1950	11,527		40.4%
1960	17,221		49.4%
1970	20,471		18.9%
1980	23,905		16.8%
1990	30,685		28.4%
2000	34,211		11.5%
2010	34,546		1.0%
Source:

As of the census of 2000, there are 34,211 people, 13,395 households, and 9,108 families residing in the city. The population density is 669.4 people per square mile (258.4/km²). There are 14,551 housing units at an average density of 284.7 per square mile (109.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city is 69.40% White, 28.29% African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.88% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.47% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. 1.41% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.^{[citation needed]}

There are 13,395 households out of which 34.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% are married couples living together, 16.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% are non-families. 28.0% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.8% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.47 and the average family size is 3.04.^{[citation needed]}

In the city the population is spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 25, 30.5% from 25 to 45, 21.4% from 45 to 65, and 12.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 82.6 males.^{[citation needed]}

The median income for a household in the city is $38,401. Males have a median income of $35,027 versus $23,988 for females. The per capita income for the city is $22,024.^{[citation needed]}

Media

The local daily newspaper is the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.

Tupelo is home to three television stations serving the 133rd-ranked designated market area among 210 markets nationwide as determined by Nielsen Media Research: WTVA (9), an NBC affiliate; WLOV (27), a Fox affiliate, and WKDH (45), an ABC affiliate. All three stations are located just outside the Tupelo city limits and were controlled by Frank K. Spain until his death on April 25, 2006.

Geography and climate

Tupelo is located in northeast Mississippi, north of Columbus, on future Interstate 22 and U.S. Route 78, midway between Memphis, Tennessee (northwest) and Birmingham, Alabama (southeast).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 51.4 square miles (133 km²), of which 51.1 square miles (132 km²) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km²) (0.62%) is water.

Climate data for Tupelo, Mississippi
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °F (°C)	80 (27)	84 (29)	87 (31)	93 (34)	100 (38)	108 (42)	109 (43)	108 (42)	104 (40)	96 (36)	87 (31)	81 (27)	109 (43)
Average high °F (°C)	50 (10)	56 (13)	65 (18)	74 (23)	81 (27)	88 (31)	91 (33)	90 (32)	85 (29)	75 (24)	63 (17)	54 (12)	66 (19)
Average low °F (°C)	30 (−1)	34 (1)	41 (5)	48 (9)	58 (14)	66 (19)	70 (21)	68 (20)	62 (17)	49 (9)	40 (4)	33 (1)	50 (10)
Record low °F (°C)	−14 (−26)	−3 (−19)	7 (−14)	23 (−5)	30 (−1)	43 (6)	50 (10)	51 (11)	38 (3)	24 (−4)	8 (−13)	−3 (−19)	−14 (−26)
Rainfall inches (mm)	5.14 (130.6)	4.68 (118.9)	6.30 (160)	4.94 (125.5)	5.80 (147.3)	4.82 (122.4)	3.65 (92.7)	2.67 (67.8)	3.35 (85.1)	3.38 (85.9)	5.01 (127.3)	6.12 (155.4)	55.86 (1,418.8)
Snowfall inches (cm)	1.3 (3.3)	0.9 (2.3)	0.3 (0.8)	0.0 (0)	0.0 (0)	0.0 (0)	0.0 (0)	0.0 (0)	0.0 (0)	0.0 (0)	0.0 (0)	0.3 (0.8)	2.8 (7.1)
% humidity	48.5	73.5	71.5	70.0	71.5	74.0	75.0	76.5	75.5	74.5	71.5	72.5	76.5
Source #1:
Source #2:

Notable people

Elvis Presley's birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi

• Alex Carrington (b. June 19, 1987), American football defensive tackle
• James M. Davis, white collar criminal, part of Stanford Financial scandal.
• Diplo, (b. 1978) DJ
• John Dye (1963–2011), actor
• Mikky Ekko, singer-songwriter & record producer
• Allie Grant (b. February 14, 1994), film and television actress
• Ray Harris (1927–2003), rockabilly musician
• Guy Hovis (b. 1941), singer
• Joe Horn (b. 1972), American football wide receiver
• Jarious Jackson (b. 1977), American football quarterback
• W. Winfred Moore (b. 1919), Baptist clergyman
• Alan Nunnelee (b. 1958), United States Congressman
• Laura Pendergest-Holt, white collar criminal, part of Stanford Financial scandal
• Elvis Presley (1935–1977), singer and actor
• John E. Rankin (1882–1960), sixteen-term United States Congressman, died in Tupelo
• Jumpin' Gene Simmons (1933–2006), rockabilly singer-songwriter
• Gil Stovall (b. 1986), swimmer
• Chris Stratton (b. August 22, 1990), minor league pitcher in the San Francisco Giants
• Paul Thorn (b. 1964), singer-songwriter
• Van Tiffin (b. 1965), American football placekicker

External links

• City of Tupelo
• Tupelo Convention & Visitors Bureau