In 2008 one rated an EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale struck the town. [9] 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. (2000) 34,211; (2010) 34,546. Corrections? [28] The all-time record low is −14 °F (−26 °C), set on January 27, 1940, while the all-time record high is 109 °F (43 °C), set on July 29, 1930. Tupelo (/ˈtuːpəloʊ/) is a city in, and the county seat of, Lee County, Mississippi, United States. Among the survivors was Elvis Presley, then a baby. 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. A special election was held to fill the vacancy is set for September 4, 2014. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/place/Tupelo-Mississippi. The city has branch campuses of the University of Mississippi and Itawamba Community College. 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."[15]. [13], By the early twentieth century the town had become a site of cotton textile mills, which provided new jobs for residents of the rural area. In the early years of settlement, European-Americans named this town Gum Pond, supposedly due to its numerous tupelo trees, known locally as blackgum. On 4/29/1963, a category F4 (max. 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 and ABC affiliate; and WLOV (27), a Fox affiliate. In addition to the annual lecture series, the Lee County Library features a Mississippi room dedicated to genealogy research. The city is home to multiple art and cultural institutions, including the Elvis Presley Birthplace and the 10,000-seat BancorpSouth Arena, the largest multipurpose indoor arena in Mississippi. In addition, 39.7% of householders were living with related children under 18 and 60.3% with no related children under 18. ADDRESS 71 East Troy St. Tupelo, MS, 38804. Like the rest of the state, Tupelo has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa in the Köppen climate classification); it is part of USDA hardiness zone 7b. Click the button below to create an account with Code Red Weather Warnings. [16] In 1953, it moved to space over Biggs Furniture Store. It developed as a processing and shipping centre for cotton and dairy produce; it is now a distribution and manufacturing centre producing furniture and tires. The birthplace of Elvis Presley, Tupelo, Mississippi. The local daily newspaper is the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. On this page the Companies from the City of Tupelo, MS are displayed: Indigenous peoples lived in the area for thousands of years. [43], Jim Newell was elected to the City Council in 2013, but resigned August 1, 2014, when he moved out of the ward he represented. The headquarters of two large banking institutions are located here: Since its founding in 1969, the Tupelo Community Theatre has produced more than 200 works. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. It serves people in North Mississippi, northwest Alabama and portions of Tennessee. [28], As of the census of 2010, there were 35,456 people, 13,602 households, and 8,965 families residing in the city. In 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt visited this "First TVA City". In 1859 the original settlement of Harrisburg was moved 2 miles (3 km) east to the Mobile and Ohio Railroad Tupelo-area historical tornado activity is near Mississippi state average. [28], Precipitation is high, averaging 55.0 inches (1,400 mm) annually. Click on a logo below to visit their site and get more information about it. [33], Until the late 1950s long-distance trains served Tupelo. His opponent was Candace Knowles. Within the city limits is Tupelo National Battlefield, where the Confederates under Nathan Bedford Forrest and Stephen D. Lee were contained by A.J. Tupelo is serviced by the Lee-Itawamba Library System. the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month) calculated based on data at said location from 1981 to 2010. [47], Tupelo schools are served by the Tupelo Public School District. [19][20] A synagogue building was dedicated in 1957, with then-Mayor James Ballard giving the remarks.[19]. Reformers documented the child workers and attempted to protect them through labor laws. French and British colonists traded with these indigenous peoples and tried to make alliances with them. The Mississippi State Geologist estimated a final death toll of 233 persons, but 100 whites were still reported as hospitalized at the time. The rock and roll star Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, and his house is part of a complex of attractions (including a museum and park) that are open to the public. Jon lost his courageous battle with cancer today. It is the headquarters and focal point of the Natchez Trace Parkway. And Interstate 22 runs north of the town on an east–west route. Pop. Other council members are Markel Whittington, Buddy Palmer, Willie Jennings, Mike Bryan and Nettie Davis. Tupelo had only 20 Jewish residents at the beginning of the Great Depression, out of 20,000 total residents. The Natchez Trace Parkway, one of America’s Top 10 National Parks, is headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi – where the power of possibility helped turn a primitive trail into a national scenic treasure.Traveled by Native Americans over 8,000 years ago, the Natchez Trace Parkway spans 444 miles and reaches from Natchez, MS, to Nashville, TN. Stay informed with the latest Coronavirus updates by clicking the button below. Based on this, historians now estimate the death toll was higher than in official records. Designated the Tupelo National Battlefield, the battlefield is administered by the National Park Service (NPS). It is 94% greater than the overall U.S. average. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Click on a logo below to visit their site and get more information about it. On average, August and September are the driest months. [5] 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". [22] The storm leveled 48 city blocks and over 200 homes, killing 216 people and injuring more than 700 persons. Its bricks were salvaged for other uses. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). [14], 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 ($712,000 in current dollar terms). Vicki Reikes Fox, Marcie Cohen Ferris (2002). Tupelo is the smallest city in the United States that is the headquarters of more than one bank with over $10 billion in assets. They annually elect the president of the council on a rotating basis. It was incorporated in 1870. It is the headquarters and focal point of the Natchez Trace Parkway. Also in the vicinity are Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site, where, on June 10, 1864, Union forces were defeated by Forrest; Chickasaw Village (formerly Ackia Battleground National Monument), marking the spot where the Chickasaw Indians defeated the French in 1736; Tombigbee State Park; Trace State Park; a section of Tombigbee National Forest; and the Private John Allen National Fish Hatchery. The medical center was a winner of the prestigious. With an estimated population of 38,312 in 2019, 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, although the area had earlier been settled as "Gum Pond" along the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. [24] The Tupelo Tornado is recognized as one of the deadliest in U.S. Want to keep informed and notified by your local emergency response team? With an estimated population of 38,312 in 2019, Tupelo is the sixth-largest city in Mississippi and is considered a commercial, industrial, and cultural hub of North Mississippi. | Site Selection Online", "Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas Totals: 2010-2017", "Tupelo, Mississippi - Historic Sites and Points of Interest", "George "Machine Gun" Kelly: American Robber and Kidnapper", "Phoenix police fatally shoot man suspected in multi-state robberies, cop killing", "This Day In History; Tornadoes Devastate Tupelo and Gainesville", "The 10 deadliest U.S. tornadoes on record", National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, http://www.areadevelopment.com/newsItems/5-26-2017/renin-corporation-manufacturing-plant-tupelo-mississippi.shtml, http://www.streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track1/gulfcoastrebel195008.html, http://streamlinerschedules.com/concourse/track2/kcflaspecial196104.html, "Exotic Animals at the Tupelo Buffalo Park and Zoo", "Pharr Mounds-National Register of Historic Places Indian Mounds of Mississippi Travel Itinerary", "Jason Shelton wins big: Tupelo elects 37-year-old mayor", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tupelo,_Mississippi&oldid;=983860414, Pages with non-numeric formatnum arguments, Articles with dead external links from April 2020, Articles with dead external links from July 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles in need of updating from August 2020, All Wikipedia articles in need of updating, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz area identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Tupelo is the headquarters of the North Mississippi Medical Center, the largest non-metropolitan hospital in the United States. In 2001 and 2004, it won awards at the Mississippi Theatre Association's Community Theatre festival. A Tupelo native and second generation attorney, Jon leaves behind a … U.S. City Tupelo, Lee Conty, Mississippi, MS, City. [3], The median income for a household in the city was $39,415. [27] The normal monthly mean temperature ranges from 41.7 °F (5.4 °C) in January to 81.4 °F (27.4 °C) in July, while, on average, there are 3.0 days where the temperature stays at or below freezing, 55 days with a low at or below freezing, and 67 days with a high at or above 90 °F (32 °C) per year. The rainiest calendar day on record is March 21, 1955 when 9.40 inches (239 mm) of rain fell; monthly precipitation has ranged from trace amounts in August 1983 to 19.89 inches (505 mm) in December 1982. ADDRESS 71 East Troy St. Tupelo, MS, 38804, HOME MY GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS EMPLOYEES TUPELO TRANSIT CONTACT US. Because the white newspapers did not publish news about blacks until the 1940s and 1950s, historians have had difficulty learning the fates of blacks injured in the tornado. In 2004 its production of. Tupelo, city, seat (1867) of Lee county, northeastern Mississippi, U.S., located 62 miles (100 km) northeast of Columbus. [3], Historically, Tupelo served as a regional transportation hub, primarily due to its location at a railroad intersection. City of Tupelo Davis has served on the council for four terms.[46]. 3.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. In 2007, the nearby village of Blue Springs was selected as the site for Toyota's 11th automobile manufacturing plant in the United States. [16] Temple B'nai Israel was established in Tupelo in 1939. The poverty rate was 20%. NAVIGATION.