Tupelo Mississippi History & Facts

Tupelo is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. With an estimated population of 38,300, Tupelo is the sixth-largest city in Mississippi and is considered a commercial, industrial, and cultural hub of North Mississippi.

Tupelo was incorporated in 1866. The area had earlier been settled as "Gum Pond" along the Mobile and Ohio Railroad.On February 7, 1934, Tupelo became the first city to receive power from the Tennessee Valley Authority, thus giving it the nickname "The First TVA City".Much of the city was devastated by a major tornado in 1936 that still ranks as one of the deadliest tornadoes in American history.Following electrification, Tupelo boomed as a regional manufacturing and distribution center and was once considered a hub of the American furniture manufacturing industry.Although many of Tupelo's manufacturing industries have declined since the 1990s, the city has continued to grow due to strong healthcare, retail, and financial service industries. Tupelo is the smallest city in the United States that is the headquarters of more than one bank with over $10 billion in assets.

Tupelo has a deep connection to Mississippi's music history, being known as the birthplace of Elvis Presley and Diplo as well as the origin of the group Rae Sremmurd. The city is home to multiple art and cultural institutions, including the Elvis Presley Birthplace and the 10,000-seat Cadence Bank Arena, the largest multipurpose indoor arena in Mississippi. Tupelo is the only city in the Southern United States to be named an All-America City five times, most recently in 2015. Its Main Street program, Downtown Tupelo Main Street Association, was the winner of the national Main Street's Great American Main Street Award in 2020.

The Tupelo micropolitian area contains Lee, Itawamba, and Pontotoc counties and had a population of 140,081 in 2017.

Famous Peoples From Tupelo Mississippi

John Mills Allen

John Mills Allen (July 8, 1846 – October 30, 1917), known as "Private John" Allen, was an American lawyer and Confederate soldier during the Civil War. He was also a member of the United States House of Representatives for eight consecutive terms from Mississippi from 1885 to 1901.

Allen was born in Tishomingo County, Mississippi on July 8, 1846. He attended the common schools during the Civil War, enlisted as a private in the Confederate Army, and served throughout the war. Allen also attended Cumberland School of Law in Lebanon, Tennessee, and graduated from the law department of the University of Mississippi in 1870. Allen was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in Tupelo, Mississippi.

Allen served as district attorney for the first judicial district of Mississippi from 1875 to 1879.

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