Tupelo

Images of America: Mississippi

by Boojkdl ajdp, Dick Hill, Mem Leake

By 1858, construction on a new railroad from Mobile, Alabama, to Cairo, Illinois, had intersected the Fulton/Pontotoc Road near an area called Gum Pond. That location contained large numbers of tupelo gum trees, and the intersection became known as Tupelo. Many merchants in surrounding communities, like Harrisburg and Richmond, realized that the intersection was going to be a prime area for commerce and began disassembling buildings that housed places of business and relocating them to Tupelo. By the beginning of the Civil War, there were two stores, two hotels, two saloons, and a temporary depot fronting the railroad just south of present-day Main Street. During the Civil War, Tupelo became a major location for shipping grain and livestock to the Confederate army. It also served as headquarters for the Confederate Army of the West and a rest and recreation area for Confederate armies.

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 23, 2013

Reviews

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an exceptionally nice collection of photographs, assembled and curated by the Lee County Historical Society. We get a great look at Memphis from its earliest days right through to the late 1950s through these images. Commerce, religion, and other aspects of daily life are well documented by this book. Highly recommended for those interested in the first city to have electricity brought to it by the Tennessee Valley Authority.