New Book Honors the History of Tupelo, Mississippi

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Sept. 13, 2013 - PRLog -- The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series is Tupelo from local author David Baker, Dick Hill, Mem Leake, Bill Lyle, Julian Riley and Boyd Yarbrough. The book boasts more than 200 vintage images chronicling the growth and change of Tupelo.

By 1858, construction on a new railroad from Mobile, Ala., to Cairo, Ill., had intersected the Fulton/Pontotoc Road near an area called Gum Pond. That location contained large numbers of tupelo gum trees and the intersection became known as Tupelo.

Many merchants in surrounding communities, like Harrisburg and Richmond, realized that the intersection was going to be a prime area for commerce and began disassembling buildings that housed places of business and relocating them to Tupelo. By the beginning of the Civil War, there were two stores, two hotels, two saloons and a temporary depot fronting the railroad just south of present-day Main Street. During the Civil War, Tupelo became a major location for shipping grain and livestock to the Confederate army. It also served as headquarters for the Confederate Army of the West and a rest and recreation area for Confederate armies.

Images of America: Tupelo takes a look at the area’s unique history by displaying rarely seen before images of the past.

Highlights of Tupelo include:
•   Rarely seen photographs which bring back memories of places and events that are no longer there, but in the residents and authors hearts and minds.
•   Provides a brief account and pictorial history of Tupelo’s first 100 years.
•   The authors’ proceeds will be donated to the Oren Dunn Tupelo Museum.

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888)-313-2665 or online.  

Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States.  Our mission is to make history accessible and meaningful through the publication of books on the heritage of America’s people and places.  Have we done a book on your town?  Visit www.arcadiapublishing.com/.