Tupelo, Mississippi
From Freepedia
Tupelo is a city located in Lee County, Mississippi. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 34,211. It is the county seat of Lee County6.
Tupelo is designated an "All-American City" and boasts one of the largest furniture manufacturing industries nationwide. The town was originally named Gumpond prior to the American Civil War, supposedly due to the high number of sweetgum trees that grow in the area. The city still hosts the Gumtree Arts Festival each year. In the post-civil-war era, Tupelo became the northern Mississippi site for the crossing of a railroad, which brought industry to the town, establishing it as the center of commerce in the northern part of the state. Once the town began to grow, Gumpond took on the name Tupelo, naming the town after the small civil war battle that took place on the site, now designated as Tupelo National Battlefield. That Battle of Tupelo was in turn named for the tupelo trees of the area.
U.S. Highway 78 passes through Tupelo, and is slated to become Interstate 22 within a few years.
The Natchez Trace Parkway, connecting Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee, while following the route of the original Natchez Trace trail, passes through Tupelo with it's headquarters/visitor's center also located here.
Tupelo is home to three television stations: WTVA (9), an NBC affiliate; WLOV (27), a FOX affiliate, and WKDH (45), an ABC affiliate. All three stations are located just outside the Tupelo city limits.
The headquarters for the American Family Association (AFA), a conservative, fundamentalist Christian non-profit organization founded by Rev. Donald Wildmon in 1977, is based in Tupelo.
Tupelo is also home to a satellite campus of the University of Mississippi, Itawamba Community College, and the Mississippi University for Women.
The local newspaper is the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.
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Famous people
Elvis Presley was born in East Tupelo.
There is a beautiful life-sized bronze statue of "Elvis at 13" by sculptor Michiel Van der Sommen close by the little wooden house where Elvis was born (which is open to the public). The annual Elvis Presley Festival held in early June attracts music lovers from all over the world. A photo of the statue is available here and here.
Elton John and Bernie Taupin wrote a song called "Porch Swing in Tupelo" for Peachtree Road, about the town (there's a porch swing in Tupelo/in the shape of the south).
Mark Knopfler's 2004 album 'Shangri-La' contains a song called "Back to Tupelo".
Richard Pryor's fictional character "Mudbone" was from Tupelo.
Gil Stovall was born in Tupelo. Stovall was an Olympic Trials qualifier, placing 9th in the nation in the 200m Butterfly. Stovall currently swims for the University of Georgia, where he holds school records in the 200y butterfly and 800y freestyle relay. Also holds Tennessee state records in the 100y butterfly and 100y freestyle. Holds Southeastern records in Open 200y Medley relay, 17-18 100y Butterfly and 200y Butterfly, 15-16 200y butterfly, 17-18 100m Butterfly, 17-18 200m Butterfly, 17-18 200m Individual Medley.
Geography
Tupelo is located at 34°15'35" North, 88°43'33" West (34.259585, -88.725885)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 133.2 km² (51.4 mi²). 132.4 km² (51.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.8 km² (0.3 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.62% water.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 34,211 people, 13,395 households, and 9,108 families residing in the city. The population density is 258.4/km² (669.4/mi²). There are 14,551 housing units at an average density of 109.9/km² (284.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 69.40% White, 28.28% African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.88% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.47% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. 1.41% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 13,395 households out of which 34.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% are married couples living together, 16.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% are non-families. 28.0% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.8% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.47 and the average family size is 3.04.
In the city the population is spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 82.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $38,401, and the median income for a family is $48,465. Males have a median income of $35,027 versus $23,988 for females. The per capita income for the city is $22,024. 12.7% of the population and 10.2% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 17.6% of those under the age of 18 and 12.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Local or Yahoo! Maps
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Satellite image from Google Local or Microsoft Virtual Earth
