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Please add profiles of those who were born, lived or died in Tipton County, Tennessee.
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Due to topographic changes caused by the 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes, part of what is now Tipton County was cut off from the state of Tennessee by a change in the course of the Mississippi River. The earthquake changed the course of the river near the settlement of Reverie, Tennessee. The old riverbed is west of Reverie. The river now runs east of Reverie, putting Reverie on the Arkansas side, while most of the area of Tipton County is located east of the river, on the Tennessee side.
The county was established October 29, 1823. The land was former Chickasaw Indian territory. The county was named for Jacob Tipton (1765–1791), whose direct ancestor allegedly was Sir Anthony de Tipton, who in 1282, is said to have slain the Prince of Wales at the Battle of Snowdon.
Early Mississippi River steamboat commerce flourished in Tipton County. In 1830, the community of Randolph, one of the earliest settlements in Tipton County, was the most important shipping point in Tennessee and an early rival of Memphis for commercial supremacy. But its fortunes declined in later years.[13] Riverboat traffic gradually yielded to freight being shipped by railroad. The first rail service in Tipton County was established in December 1855, when the Memphis and Ohio Railroad completed the route from Memphis to Nashville, running through what is now Mason.
Two Civil War forts, Fort Randolph and Fort Wright, were built near the settlement because of its strategic location on the second Chickasaw Bluff of the Mississippi River.
Following the Civil War, investment in infrastructure was renewed, and the Memphis and Paducah Railroad completed the tracks to Covington in July 1873. A telegraph line between Memphis and Covington was opened in 1882. In 1894, Covington was connected to electricity. Forced water mains have provided residents of Covington with water since 1898. In 1922, street paving began in the county seat. Since 1929, residents of Covington have had access to natural gas.
Adjacent Counties
- Lauderdale County
- Haywood County
- Fayette County
- Shelby County
- Crittenden County, Ark.
- Mississippi County, Ark.
Cities, Towns & Communities
- Atoka
- Brighton
- Burlison
- Corona
- Covington (County Seat)
- Drummonds
- Garland
- Gilt Edge
- Hopewell
- Mason
- Munford
- Peckerwood Point
- Randolph
- Reverie
- Tipton
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