Tupelo, Mississippi

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 County{{GR|6}}.

Related Topics:
Lee County, Mississippi - 2000 - County seat

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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.

Related Topics:
All-American City - Furniture - Manufacturing - Industries - American Civil War - Sweetgum - Gumtree Arts Festival - Mississippi - Railroad - Commerce - Battle - Tupelo National Battlefield - Battle of Tupelo - Tupelo

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U.S. Highway 78 passes through Tupelo, and is slated to become Interstate 22 within a few years.

Related Topics:
U.S. Highway 78 - Interstate 22

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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.

Related Topics:
Natchez Trace Parkway - Natchez, Mississippi - Nashville, Tennessee - Natchez Trace

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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.

Related Topics:
WTVA - NBC - WLOV - FOX - WKDH - ABC

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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.

Related Topics:
American Family Association - Conservative - Fundamentalist Christian - Non-profit organization - Donald Wildmon - 1977

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Tupelo is also home to a satellite campus of the University of Mississippi, Itawamba Community College, and the Mississippi University for Women.

Related Topics:
University of Mississippi - Itawamba Community College - Mississippi University for Women

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The local newspaper is the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.

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