James Kirby Smith

Pvt. James Kirby Smith was born in Brighton, Tipton County, TN to Robert Lee Smith and Frances Ida Huffman Smith on Sept. 11, 1895. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on June 28, 1918, under service number 3501627. He was 22 years old when he enlisted, 5′ 9 1/2″ tall,

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Union Hill

The historical schools that once dotted the landscape of Tipton County were segregated like all schools in the South during the beginning of the 20th century. Union Hill was a colored school in the District 6 area of Munford. Teacher records for Union Hill begin with the 1924/1925 school year,

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A SKETCH OF COVINGTON IN 1885

This newspaper article from page 4 of the Friday, Dec. 11, 1885, issue of the Memphis Daily Appeal is a first-hand account of a visitor to Covington and a correspondent of the Memphis Daily Appeal. The article text has been reprinted as it was originally written. The photos have been

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Craig’s Chapel

By Sherri Onorati, Special to The Leader Although, it’s been hard to determine when Craig’s Chapel first started its school, records at the Tipton County Board of Education do show that it was in operation and the district was paying teachers at the school, as far back as 1911. There

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Cooper School

A look at Tipton County’s historical schools  By Sherri Onorati, Special to The Leader This summer, The Leader is continuing its summer series on Tipton County’s former community schools. At one time, there were more than 100 community schools located throughout Tipton County. These stories are about those historical schools,

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Bowden School

Bowden School By Sherri Onorati, published in the Covington Leader, published in The Leader on June 21. 2012 Not much is known about Bowden School. Teacher pay records show that it was in existence in 1911 but school records at the Tipton County School Board are few and the only

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St. Paul’s School

Humble beginnings Although the exact date of the establishment of St. Paul’s School is unknown, available Board of Education records do show it was in existence at least from 1911 to the end of its last school term and subsequent closing in 1968. The colored school was located in the

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After WWII, Tipton County’s Black veterans founded their own American Legion post

Published in The Leader By Sherri Onorati November 11, 2020 The soldiers who came home after World War I were tired, traumatized and many felt out-of-place given what they had been through – even in their hometowns – places which should have been welcoming and familiar. A small group of

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William E. Dycus

William E. Dycus was inducted into the U.S. Army at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia on January 21, 1942. He was attached to Battery B, 755th Field Artillery Battalion. (William had served previously with the ERC from June 8, 1940 until October 26, 1941.) He was in battles for: Normandy, Northern France,

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