Tipton County history

Covington was established as Tipton’s seat of government on December 11, 1824.

The first Court House, a framed two story structure, 20 feet by 30 feet square, was completed in July 1825.

Education must have been important to the early settlers of Covington for in 1826, the first school in the little town was established.

The first denomination to organize a congregation in Covington was the Presbyterians in 1829.

circuit court minutes from 1832

When the legislature created Lauderdale County on November 24, 1835, Tipton’s land areas was reduced to 440 square miles.

They organized their first church in Covington in 1839.

Munford's History:The Town of Munford can trace its origins to the early 1850’s when the Mt.

The young town was the home to the Tipton Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons founded in 1853 which is the second oldest Masonic Lodge in Tipton County.

chancery court minutes from 1854

Mason's History:The Town of Mason has its beginnings in 1855 with the completion of the Memphis & Ohio Railroad through the southeastern corner of Tipton County.

Zion" after the Post Office opened there in 1856.

Covington's first newspaper, The Covington Spy, began publication in 1860.

Covington and Tipton County was pro-Union up to the firing on Fort Sumter by Federal troops in April 1861.

Following the fall of this area to the Union horde in 1862, Covington was only occupied by Federal forces for short periods of time.

The town was incorporated in 1869.

By the late 1870's the population of the little town had grown to around 500 inhabitants.

Atoka's History:Atoka was founded in 1872 along the newly constructed tracks of the Memphis and Paducah Railroad upon the lands of Hugh Thompson.

For this reason, the Memphis and Paducah Railroad tracks were completed in July 1873.

By 1881 the community had grown to such an extent that a post office was opened in the M. Hathcock store that same year.

Also, a telegraph line between Memphis and Covington was installed in 1882.

In 1883, the veterans of the 7th Tennessee Cavalry, Confederate States of America made Brighton the permanent site of their annual reunion.

The first railroad in Tipton County was established in December 1885, Memphis and Ohio Railroad completed the route from Memphis to Nashville with a train station in what is now Mason, TN.

Although the Post Office after 1886 was known as Munford, parts of the town would continue to be known as Mt.

Covington gained electricity in 1894.

In 1895, the first Rural Free Delivery Routes were set-up by the United States Post Office and Atoka was selected as one of the first three American towns to participate in the program.--The town was first incorporated in the nineteenth century but the town leaders allowed the charter to lapse.

Over the years, attendance of this annual August event grew peeking at 15,000 in 1897.

And, in 1898, forced water mains provided Covington residents with indoor water.

That all would come to an end in 1905 when Munford was incorporated by an Act of the Tennessee General Assembly.

Atoka was reincorporated in 1911 and the town continues to operate under that charter.

On February 14, 1913, Garland was incorporated by an Act of the Tennessee General Assembly.

During the 1920’s, a small portion of land in south Tipton County was ceded to Shelby County so the residents could attend Shelby County schools at Rosemark.

The Tipton County Confederate Veterans Reunion, as it became to be known, continued to be held at Brighton until 1940.

Burlison's History:Burlison is a relatively new town, having been incorporated in 1965 although the community is at least one hundred years older.

Memphis, the institute, 1975.

True Tales of Tipton: Historical Accounts of Tipton County, Tennessee (Beasley, 1981) [name index]*

Early History of Mason (Marshall, 1985) [name index]

Covington, the association, 1986.

Mark Stewart is a 1991 graduate of Munford High School.

1992 graduate of Covington High School – Mr.

Linda W. Childers is a compassionate nurse practitioner who has treated patients at the Germantown and Wolfchase offices of Memphis Obstetrics & Gynecological Association (MOGA) since 1996.

CHS Class of 1997 - Assistant Principal Shelby County Schools; recently inducted into Lane College's Athletic Hall of Fame

He is currently president of Drexel Chemical Company in Memphis, TN. Stewart joined Drexel in Sales in January 1999.

The town is Tipton County's third largest municipality, having a population in 2000 of 3,235.

In 2001, Mia become the first African American woman crowned Miss Tipton County and Miss Mid-South Fair – which allowed her to compete in the 2001 Miss Tennessee Scholarship Pageant.

Jeromy was born and raised in Covington, TN, and also graduated from Covington High School in 2003.

Nicole Caldwell is a 2004 Brighton High School graduate.

Lee Downing, class of 2005 graduate of Brighton High School, owns nine Aire Serv Heating and Air companies across Tennessee.

She began her career at the Exchange Club - Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse in 2006 and is currently the Director.

Historic Randolph Cemetery (2007) [name index]

Munford High School 2010 graduate, Doctor Quanesha Richardson serves as a geriatric occupational therapist in a skilled nursing facility in Vicksburg, MS.

After high school, he attended Dyersburg State Community College in Dyersburg, TN, where he played collegiate basketball for 2 years before transferring to Middle Tennessee State in Murfreesboro, TN. Jeromy got his bachelors degree in liberal Studies in 2011.

Brighton High School Class of 2012

2017-present Randolph AFB, TX (Major/Assistant Director of Operations)