Brighton, TN

Brighton is a town in Tipton County, Tennessee. The population was 1,719 at the 2000 census.

History

Brighton was established in the year 1873 along the newly completed tracts of the Memphis and Paducah Railroad upon the lands of A. W. Smith, Sr. who gave the initial five acres for the Depot grounds. The new town was named for Mr. Bright, the first conductor on the Memphis Division of the said road.

The new town grew quickly. By the late 1870's, Brighton had two dry goods stores, three grocery stores, two saloons, two blacksmith shops, two wagon shops, one brick yard, one steam saw and grist mill, one steam cotton gin, a Baptist church, two physicians, and a population around 100.

In 1883, the veterans of the 7th Tennessee Cavalry, Confederate States of America made Brighton the permanent site of their annual reunion. At Brighton the veterans reunion took on new dimensions and it grew into a reunion of all Confederate veterans of Tipton County and the surrounding region. Over the years, attendance of this annual August event grew peeking at 15,000 in 1897. The Tipton County Confederate Veterans Reunion, as it became to be known, continued to be held at Brighton until 1940.

Brighton was incorporated by the Tennessee General Assembly in 1913 and the town today continues to operate under the same charter.

History Courtesy of Russell Bailey, Tipton County Historian

Education

Brighton Public Schools are part of Tipton County Schools. The Tipton County School District has eight elementary schools, five middle schools and four high schools.[4]

Dr. William E. Bibb is the Director of Schools.

Schools located in Brighton include:

Brighton Elementary School

Brighton Middle School

Brighton High School

External Links

Tipton County History


Brighton History

Brighton Website

Tipton County, TN 1860 Federal Census

Source: Wikipedia