Timeline
100 BCE
Woodland Period. Mound builders first used agriculture, allowing the establishment of permanent villages.
1100 CE
Mississippian Period. Flat top mounds were built. Main crops were corn, beans, and squash. Societies became centralized and villages permanent.
1400 CE
The Chickasaw Nation became the dominant culture in this area. The nation’s capital, Old Town, would later be known as a portion of Tupelo.
1540
Hernando DeSoto wintered in the area, bringing with him horses, cows, and pigs. He and his men introduced European diseases to the Amerindians in the region to which the native population had no immunity.
Spain owned the land of the lower Mississippi Valley.
1699
France owned the land of the lower Mississippi Valley.
1736
Battle of Ackia. This took place in the present area of Tupelo known as Lee Acres, near President and Pierce streets. The French allied with the Choctaw Nation to unite the upper Mississippi and lower Mississippi Valley to establish the fur trade exclusively with the French and drive out the British. The British joined with the Chickasaw Nation to defend their claims to the region. The Chickasaw Nation overcame the French after a series of intense confrontations. Had the French won the Battle of Ackia, we likely would speak French instead of English today.
1763
Britain controlled the Lower Mississippi Valley.
1779
Spain gained control of the region.
1800
The first postal service appears on the Natchez Trace.
1814
Gen. Andrew Jackson traveled the Natchez Trace after defeating the British at the Battle of New Orleans.
1818
Mississippi becomes the 20th state to enter the Union.
1832
Andrew Jackson is President. Chickasaw leaders sign the Treaty of Pontotoc Creek, ceding more than 6 million acres to the United States. Jackson orders Chickasaw Nation removal to Oklahoma.
1836
Pontotoc and Itawamba counties formed. Land sells for $4 an acre. Land speculators move in from the Northeast.
1860
Tupelo’s plat recorded in Itawamba County in Plat Book 1, page 79, in July. Mobile and Ohio Railroad under construction along Front Street and intersected with what would become Main Street. Originally called “Gum Pond,” but its name would change to Tupelo because of the Tupelo gum trees that grew along the railroad route.
1864
The Civil War saw several skirmishes in the area, including Battle of Brice’s Crossroads, Battle of Harrisburg/Tupelo, Battle of Okolona, Battle of Kings Creek, and Battle of Black Water. Union troops disrupted rail traffic along the M&O Railroad.
Key to Union plans: Chase and capture Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forest to prevent him from keeping Gen. Tecumseh Sherman advancing to Atlanta.
1866
On October 30th Lee County carved out of Pontotoc and Itawamba counties. Named for Gen. Robert E. Lee, commander of the armies of the Confederate States of America.
1870
Tupelo chartered on July 20th with a population of 618. Henry C. Medford, a local attorney, elected first mayor. The Lee County Journal established as the town’s first newspaper. George Herndon was the first owner/editor. Eventually the newspaper became the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Tupelo is selected as the Lee County seat of justice.
1871
Tupelo Male Academy established for public and private school students. Shortly thereafter, the Tupelo Female Seminary opened its doors.
Brick courthouse built on Courthouse Square.
Glenwood Cemetery donated to City of Tupelo for Confederate veterans and citizens of Tupelo.
1872
The Lee County Journal renamed the Tupelo Journal.
1873
Courthouse burns in February.
1874
New courthouse built on same site as old one.
1877
George Herndon sells the Tupelo Journal to his brother, John G. Herndon. Later in the year, Herndon sells the paper to Capt. J.H. Miller.
1885
Private John M. Allen elected to Congress for the first time. He would serve until 1901, after declining to run for re-election.
1886
Congressman John M. Allen drives the last spike in the Kansas City, Memphis, and Birmingham Railroad near Guin, Ala. This railroad becomes the second line to run through Tupelo. The first train on this railroad passes through Tupelo in March. Now the town has a north-south railroad line and an east-west railroad line.
Raymond Trice and Co. moves its banking operations from Verona to nearby Tupelo and changes its name to Bank of Lee County, which later becomes the Bank of Tupelo. Other banks and businesses begin to move into the town.
1887
The 900-seat Tupelo Opera House opens for a 25-year run before it burns.
Fire destroys most of the buildings along Front Street. Merchants, others begin using brick more for construction.
1888
JJ Rogers Co. moves to Tupelo from Verona. First major industry in City of Tupelo.
More than 50 new buildings are constructed.
First streetlights in the city – kerosene lanterns on poles.
1891
Tupelo’s first public school, Tupelo Graded School, opens on property previously known as Freeman’s Grove and Jefferson and Gloster streets.
1892
Capt. J.H. Miller sells Tupelo Journal to J.B. Ballard.
Tupelo’s first economic development group, Board of Trade, formed.
1898
James Kincannon buys the Tupelo Daily Journal.
1899
Early businesses established: Tupelo Oil & Ice, W.E. Pegues, Reeds, Leake & Goodlett.
1900
U.S. Census, Tupelo population, 2,118.
1901
Private John Allen makes famous speech advocating for Tupelo as the site of the first US Fish Hatchery.
1902
Lee County Courthouse burns.
1903
First municipal water supply system approved. Depleted fish population at Park Lake causes moratorium on fishing.
1904
New courthouse built.
Sanitary sewage system approved by City Board.
1905
Streets begin to receive curbs and gutters.
Hard-surfaced sidewalks constructed.
1907
YMCA built at Main and Green streets.
1908
First Tupelo High School track and field meet at Tupelo Fairgrounds.
1909
First Lee County Fair held.
1910
First air show in Mississippi held at the Tupelo Fairgrounds.
First car sold in Tupelo – a Maxwell.
1911
City Hall constructed.
Citywide house-to-house mail service established.
1914
Tupelo High School constructed. Old building to serve grades 1-10.
First concrete paved road constructed in Mississippi in Tupelo.
Ole Miss and Mississippi A&M play at fairgrounds. Mississippi A&M wins, 65-0.
Lee County has 49 miles of paved road, most in Tupelo.
1915
US Post Office built on Main Street. Price tag: $50,000.
1920
Tupelo Hospital opens in old YMCA Building. Dr. LC Feemster led the effort with 340 patients the first year of operation.
John Rankin elected to US Congress.
1923
First bus service to Tupelo.
A.M. Strange hired as principal of the Lee County Training School.
Tabernacle Revival held on Main Street for two weeks.
1925
W.C. Handy plays at Southern Hotel.
1926
First pure-bred Jersey heifer imported to establish dairy industry.
1927
Carnation Evaporated Milk Co. constructs plant in Tupelo. Construction takes six months.
Reed Brothers Manufacturing established.
1929
Milam Manufacturing, children’s’ sleepwear maker, begins operation.
1933
City of Tupelo signs contract with Tennessee Valley Authority and becomes the first power customer of TVA.
1934
Investors purchase property for an airport.
Land surveyed for possible Natchez Trace Parkway.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visit tupelo to officially turn the switch on TVA.
1935
Elvis Aaron Presley born.
Jack Cristil moves to Tupelo.
Madison Street round swimming pool constructed.
1936
The fourth deadliest tornado recorded in US meteorological history hits Tupelo, killing more than 200 and injuring thousands on April 5th.
Tupelo begins the process of recovery.
1937
New Community Hospital opens on South Gloster; eventually becomes North Mississippi Medical Center.
Cotton Mill employees strike, causing mill to close.
First plane crash in area. Pilot and student killed.
Construction begins on the Natchez Trace Parkway.
1938
First air mail.
George Washington Carver School built for grades 1-12.
1939
Library starts bookmobile service for rural communities. This is the first in the state.
1945
One hundred seventeen Lee County men killed in World War II.
1946
East Tupelo annexed into City of Tupelo.
1947
Tupelo attorney Sam Lumpkin is elected lieutenant governor.
1948
Community Development Foundation established.
Tupelo divided into six wards.
1949
Lee County Library moved from City/County Building into Private John Allen House.
1950
Sixty-nine Lee County men killed in Korean Conflict.
Tupelo Park Commission formed.
1951
Commercial air service established in Tupelo by Southern Airways.
1954
Elvis Presley cuts his first record at Sun Studios in Memphis, Tenn.
1957
Property purchased in Lee Acres for new high school building.
Elvis Presley performs at the fairgrounds and donates his $10,000 fee to construct a public park in East Tupelo.
1959
John Tidwell hired as first director of Tupelo Parks and Recreation. An extensive parks building program begins.
1960
Former President Harry S. Truman visits Tupelo, campaigning for John F. Kennedy.
Tupelo opens new zoo owned by “Doc” Warner.
1961
New Tupelo High School competed on Varsity Drive.
Natchez Trace Visitor Center built in Tupelo.
1963
New post office and federal building built on Main Street at the cost of $900,000.
1964
Itawamba Community College offers classes in Tupelo in warehouse space.
1965
Schools desegregated. Two African American students participate.
1966
Civic Auditorium opens.
ICC locates on Eason campus.
1967
Tupelo was named an All-America City by the National Civic League.
Tupelo hospital becomes North Mississippi Medical Center.
1969
Lee County Library in Allen house is demolished to make room for the new bulding.
Tupelo Community Theater organized.
Tupelo names CI Lemon Field at the airport for the longtime airport manager and the operator of the first private flying service at the airport.
1970
Schools fully desegregated.
Tupelo Mall on South Gloster and Downtown Mall on East Main are established.
1971
Elvis Presley Birthplace in East Tupelo opens to the public.
Lee County Library opens at its present location.
Tupelo Community Symphony premieres in concert at the Civic Auditorium.
1972
Dot Cooper is appointed park director and credited with securing money for park expansions and land for future development.
CREATE founded.
1975
University of Mississippi opens Tupelo branch.
City voters approve by 70 percent a $1.9 million bond issue to help finance a $6.5 million airport expansion.
1977
Tupelo receives the state’s only City Spirit grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Elvis Presley is found dead at his home in Memphis, Tenn.
1978
Elvis Presley Birthplace listed as a Mississippi Historical site.
Construction begins on new Tupelo Regional Airport and runway.
1982
New runway at airport is completed.
1983
Tupelo is included in the book “The Best Towns in America,” written by Hugh Bayless.
Flight Line begins service in Tupelo.
1985
Tupelo Art Gallery opens.
1989
Tupelo was named an All-America City by the National Civic League for a second time.
1990
Tupelo purchases Downtown Mall, making way for construction of the BancorpSouth Arena.
1992
New Tupelo High School built on Cliff Gookin Blvd.
Final Mississippi Alabama Fair and Dairy Show presented at fairgrounds. Moves to Lee County Ag Center in Verona.
1994
A four-lane US Highway completed and connects Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee. This highway runs through Tupelo.
1995
North Mississippi Medical Center named the largest rural hospital in the nation.
1999
Tupelo was named an All-America City by the National Civic League for a third time.
2007
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Mississippi announces its eighth North American automotive assembly plant right outside of Tupelo.
2009
Tupelo is part of a 30-county region designated as the Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area (MHNHA), by Congress and the President in April of 2009 and was chosen as the site of the MHNHA exhibit center.
2011
Tupelo was named an All-America City by the National Civic League for a fourth time.
2015
Tupelo was named an All-America City by the National Civic League for a fifth time.