Randolph Series: From the Beginning
By Anna Cooper—Associate Editor
Photography by: Scott Taylor—Creative Director
Researching Randolph has proven to be a very difficult feat. Information becomes muddled as the years pass and untangling fact from fiction takes time. Tipton County Historian David Gwinn helped with research, fact-checking, and confirming the information is what has made attempting Randolph in our Memories Series possible. A third article will cover the Civil War and its aftermath that created the lost, buried town we know as Randolph.
In 1541, Hernando de Soto possibly crossed the Mississippi at Randolph—or somewhere in between there and Memphis. There is no verifiable information as to where he explicitly crossed, but the conquistador was the first to cross the Mississippi. De Soto was not the last explorer to take an interest in the area. It’s rumored that in 1682 Cavelier de La Salle led a canoe expedition to explore the Mississippi River basin and established Fort Prudhomme on one of the four Chickasaw bluffs—Randolph sits on the Second Chickasaw Bluff. The fort was named after a lost expedition member whom they searched for. Days later the lost member of the exploration team made his way back. No one knows exactly where Fort Prudhomme was, only that it was in Tennessee. Some say it was where Memphis is today.
Today many people from the area will tell you that at one point, there was thought that Randolph was going to be bigger than Memphis—despite the city being established some years before. Memphis was established in 1819 by Judge John Overton, General James Winchester, and Andrew Jackson. Around 1820, the area around Randolph’s had an approximate population of 54. This, of course, can’t be verified because the county had not yet been organized. There are also some records—such as one from the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture—that dates Randolph’s incorporation in 1823. However, according to the Tennessee Gazetteer (1860), it wasn't actually established until 1827—settlement in the area is dated sometime in 1826 with businesses opening in December of that year. Gwinn found that “John T. Brown and Kelsey H. Douglass established a warehouse for country produce and goods below the lower mouth of the Hatchie River at the Second Chickasaw Bluff in 1826.” Kelsey H. Douglass maintained a line of keelboats to transport goods into the interior of West Tennessee using the Hatchie River. The following year, “Kelsey H. Douglas, Robert Cotton, Hiram Bradford, Joseph W. McKean, David W. Wood, Robert H. Bedford, and John T. Brown as stockholders and proprietors of the Town of Randolph—organized, named and laid out the town (1827).” The men named the town after Virginian John Randolph of Roanoke. Robert H. Bedford and John T. Brown were appointed by the other stockholders as “their true and lawful attorneys to sell lots in the Town of Randolph” in December 1828, though lots began selling during November of the prior year.
The book, True Tales of Tipton, theorizes that a post office may have been established between 1827 or 1828 with James M. Gibson was the first postmaster, but this information is unverifiable in terms of accuracy: however Gibson was indeed the first of many postmasters in Randolph. The Randolph United Methodist Church anthologized the1982 Treasure of Recipes plus History of Randolph Cookbook and records that in 1929, as Randolph grew into a town—businesses settled under the bluff right beside the river. There are 10 doctors, three commission warehouses, six dry good stores, one tavern, and 30 or so families. Gwinn found “the plat of the Town of Randolph is recorded in the Office of the Tipton County Register of Deeds in 1830.”
The Tennessee State Legislature incorporated Randolph in 1831. Randolph wouldn’t remain incorporated permanently until 1921. Its history includes: boundaries being extended 1838, having its first charter abolished until 1843/1844 where it became incorporated the second time before have its charter surrendered some years later. Randolph incorporated the third time in 1913 and its corporate boundaries extended 1917. Then finally Randolph’s corporate charter was abolished by an Act of the Tennessee State Legislature at the request of the citizens in 1921 (Public Acts of Tennessee). Gwinn found that “while the Town was incorporated, it would have had Mayors and Boards of Aldermen, essentially a working municipal government. The town could pass Ordinances, collect taxes, enforce laws, etc. The State Legislature has the authority to issue Charters of Incorporation and abolishes the same.”
The general consensus is that by 1830, Randolph had become the most important shipping point in Tennessee. The 1982 Treasure of Recipes Cookbook says, “Randolph had an excellent harbour for steam and flatboats at all stages of water” making Randolph the center for Tennessee steamboat commerce.
In 1833, there was, allegedly, a stagecoach line established by James Brown connecting Jackson and Randolph, as well as villages between twice a week. Daniel Vaught was appointed postmaster in 1834 and a stagecoach line from Somerville to Randolph was possibly in operation. None of this information could be confirmed by Gwinn, but it was located in online articles that also had more information about other mail-lines in the area; including information that the Federal Government established a weekly one-horse mail line from Jackson via Brownsville, Covington, and Randolph to Memphis (about 1829).
The first newspaper in Tipton County was established in Randolph. Francis Stanton Latham believed Randolph would become the principal city of West Tennessee. According to Gwinn, “Randolph Recorder was established in June 1834 with F. S. Latham & Co. as the publishers and F. S. Latham as the Editor. He sold the newspaper in 1836 to Allen M. Scott and Latham moved to Memphis where he established the Memphis Enquirer and still later in 1841, the Memphis Eagle. In April 1837, Allen M. Scott closed the office of the Randolph Recorder and moved the press to Brownsville where he established the Brownsville Banner in April 1837. The Randolph Whig was established in 1838 with David M. McPherson as the Editor. By early 1839, the newspaper was in trouble and suspended publication but by late February 1839, McPherson formed a connection with D. H. Rankin in Columbia, Tennessee, and resumed publication and expanded the newspaper. The paper ceased publication in the latter half of 1839.” When the Randolph Whig published its last issue, it cited ‘hard times’ as the reason for its demise.
According to the 1982 Treasure of Recipes Cookbook, four hotels were built in 1834; two being “Planters Hotel” and “Washington Hall.” While Gwinn confirmed the existence of these two named hotels, he was unable to confirm the “date hotels were built or the number” of them in Randolph. He also mentioned “ravines, gullies all over the town. Houses and businesses are haphazardly built in the town because of that fact. There were a number of fresh water springs” in the area and evidence of many can still be found today.
It was also the year the U.S. Government purchased Chickasaw land in North Mississippi and opened them for settlement. A lot of people were traveling in and out of this area. Randolph was a harbor that saw a lot of commerce. In fact, it had become the greatest port in Tennessee four years earlier. There’s a lot of conflicting data concerning the population of the town. The most correct, accurate information comes from Gwinn, using his resources to research the information from the government. Despite other sources saying there was an estimated population of about 1,000, records from The Tennessean indicate the population was under 400 people from 1834 to 1835. This explains the 1834 construction of a single church. Gwinn found “the Proprietors of Randolph gave the Town of Randolph two lots in town limits for the use of a Public Church that was to be used by all denominations.” Another source proclaims Reverend Samuel R. Davidson as the first pastor in Randolph. Gwinn also has that “Wright had established the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in 1833. The church was organized in 1832 in Mrs. Frazier’s Hotel in Randolph. A church edifice was constructed immediately outside of town. It was completed in 1838. St Paul’s Episcopal was active until the church edifice was burned in 1862 during the Civil War.” Overall there was “very little religious activity in Randolph in the early days,” but there is also the “Randolph Methodist Episcopal Church where Randolph is first mentioned as a preaching point on the Wesley Circuit of the Memphis District (now Conference) in 1832.”
The town of Randolph had more than a few incidents. In 1835, Anne Cambreling of North Carolina claimed the title to 1000 acres of land where Randolph was located. Our research never clarified why Camberling would have a title of this nature; however, this is similar to our previous story on the Whitlock home in our March/April 2019 issue where “back in the 18th century, Congress, states, and towns enticed young men to join the army with bounties offered upon enlistment and could be a single payment of money or a grant of land. The possibility that the government granted Samuel Harris the land in 1788 for his enlistment is high because the first listing on the Land Grant (of the home and land’s history) is, “June 10, 1788: State of North Carolina to Harris, Samuel,” and goes on to detail every person who owned the property until November 6, 1981, when Ginger and Tommy purchased it.”
The Town of Randolph bought back their town for $8,000. Gwinn was able to find the exact wording concerning the matter, “for the consideration of three notes in the amount of two thousand eight hundred and twenty-six dollars due in 1836, two thousand nine hundred and six dollars due in 1837 and two thousand nine hundred and eighty-six dollars due in 1838 sold the proprietors of Randolph her entire interest in a 1000 acre tract which was granted to her by the State of Tennessee—deed dated 1835.”.
True Tales of Tipton cites that on June 6, 1836, the Steamer “Tuskina” landed for supplies; 300 Kentucky Volunteers—Fife and Drum corps furnish citizens with music; elite members of the town of Randolph boarded and to give soldiers flowers. The following year, 1837, another financial blow was dealt to Randolph. The Great Depression found its way to Randolph. True Tales of Tipton also indicates that a proposed turnpike from Middle Tennessee to Randolph was rejected this year but county sources cannot accurately deduce a timeframe. It is also said that merchants have an extensive general store and buy cotton, but any concrete information is unattainable. The evidence of a story is likely though because by 1837 Randolph had shipped more cotton than any other port in Tennessee.
1982 Treasure of Recipes Cookbook records that in 1838, the town had private schools, including one college. This information was double-checked by Gwinn and he found “Nathaniel Potter deeded a lot in 1838 to the Trustees of the Randolph Institute, an academy for boys and girls which opened in 1840 under the charge of Professor William Mariner and his sister, Eliza, as teachers.” The cookbook also mentioned about 50 business houses including a distillery, two wholesale whiskey houses, and 12 saloons. Gwinn found a record of “The Randolph Lodge #87, Free and Accepted Masons were chartered in 1838 at Randolph. The Lodge became inactive sometime in the 1840s.” He also found a record of the citizens of Randolph petitioning for a bank in the town, “In 1838 citizens of Tipton County petitioned the State of Tennessee to locate one of the two proposed branches of the Bank of Tennessee at Randolph. The request was denied therefore the Merchants Association of Randolph was organized to serve as a bank.”
During this time, despite “Randolph having shipped more cotton than any point in Tennessee,” the channel of the Mississippi River next to Randolph had continued to slowly move away from the 2nd Chickasaw Bluff and by 1838 the harbor was moved so far out that boats were diverted to Memphis. In 1839, the bank was still in operation with Captain Anderson Hunt serving as Director of Randolph Bank. The depression had lessened by this time, but Randolph’s troubles weren’t over. By 1840, previous years’ losses caused Randolph to truly begin to shrink—until then, Randolph shipped more cotton than Memphis did annually. In 1845, another blow was dealt to the struggling town. A railroad from Charleston to the Mississippi River was proposed to end in Memphis instead of Randolph. The railroad commerce could have led Randolph to the success once predicted in its former years. Upcoming events did not deter Randolph from its fall as a flourishing town.
Randolph still has people living in and around where the town was. Despite having many setbacks even prior to the Civil War, there has never been a decline in the people or the history present there. Hope is a powerful thing—it’s the reason Randolph became a town. It was also why Randolph held Civil War fortifications. People still held on to F.S. Latham’s vision of what Randolph could be when he began his newspaper; many people still mention it to this day.
Next issue will conclude our thrilling trilogy on Randolph with all the memories and information the great, once town, now community is still waiting to tell us.