Randolph is a rural

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Tipton County,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, United States, located on the banks of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

. Randolph was founded in the 1820s and in 1827, the Randolph

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

was established. In the 1830s, the town became an early center of river commerce in

West Tennessee West Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that roughly comprises the western quarter of the state. The region includes 21 counties between the Tennessee and Mississippi rivers, delineated by state law. Its ...

. Randolph shipped more cotton annually than

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

until 1840. In 1834, the first pastor of the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

congregation was appointed. The fortunes of the community began to decline in the late 1840s due to failed railroad development, an unfavorable mail route and other factors. The first

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

in Tennessee was built at Randolph early in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

in 1861, a second fortification at Randolph was constructed later that same year. During the Civil War, the town was burned down twice by

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

forces. The settlement is located on the second

Chickasaw Bluff The Chickasaw Bluff is the high ground rising about above the Mississippi River flood plain between Fulton in Lauderdale County, Tennessee and Memphis in Shelby County, Tennessee. This elevation, shaped as four bluffs, is named for the Chickas ...

, the landscape is dominated by

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

s carved into the soil as a product of

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is dis ...

. The surface soil is composed mostly of

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel ...

loam, derived from eroded loess, and is found in different qualities and at different stages of erosion. The stratum beneath the surface consists of

glacial A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betwe ...

gravel. Randolph is situated on the southeastern edge of the

New Madrid Seismic Zone The New Madrid Seismic Zone (), sometimes called the New Madrid Fault Line, is a major seismic zone and a prolific source of intraplate earthquakes (earthquakes within a tectonic plate) in the Southern and Midwestern United States, stretching t ...

, an area with a high

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

risk. Between 1974 and 2004, forty-five earthquakes were recorded in a radius of around the settlement. Located in the humid subtropical climate zone, the climate is characterized by hot, humid summers and chilly to mild winters. In 2008, ''Randolph Bluff Historic Park'' was dedicated. The park is intended to promote the Civil War history of the community and make the unique views of the Mississippi River available to a wider public. As of 2008, Randolph has a population of about 200 and consists of about two dozen dwellings. The

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

of the rural community is dominated by

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

with no major industries and businesses present. The Girl Scouts Heart of the South operates a camp at Randolph.

History

European settlement

Flatboat Replica Mud Island Memphis TN 08

Around 1800, Europeans began settling the land east of the

that was inhabited by the

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classif ...

Indians for centuries prior to the arrival of Europeans. Chickasaw land in

and southwestern

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

was ceded in the

Jackson Purchase The Jackson Purchase, also known as the Purchase Region or simply the Purchase, is a region in the U.S. state of Kentucky bounded by the Mississippi River to the west, the Ohio River to the north, and the Tennessee River to the east. Jackson's ...

. In 1818, both sides agreed to the transfer by signing the

Treaty of Tuscaloosa The Treaty of Tuscaloosa was signed in October 1818, and ratified by congress in January 1819. endorsed by President James Monroe. It was one of a series of treaties made between the Chickasaw Indians and the United States that year. The Trea ...

. In the early 19th century, the terrain of the Chickasaw Bluffs provided promising locations for a harbor on the Mississippi River for Randolph. In 1820, the area had an estimated population of 54. Early in the 1820s, investors John T. Brown and Robert Bedford were the owners of the land that would form Randolph a few years later. Only north of

by water, they described the area as "a good landing for Mississippi River flatboats". The

Hatchie River The Hatchie River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 3, 2011 river in northern Mississippi and southwestern Tennessee. It is of considerable geographic, cultural, a ...

, joining the Mississippi River just north of Randolph, was accessible to steamboats upriver to Bolivar. Brown and Bedford chose the site to lay out the plan for Randolph, a promising river town. The ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'' gives the date of Randolph's official establishment as 1823. Other reports date the foundation to 1827 or 1828. The settlement is named for John Randolph (1773–1833), a leader in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Cotton commerce

Success

Located on the banks of the Mississippi River, the

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...

of Randolph provided for an ideal harbor for steamboats and

flatboat A flatboat (or broadhorn) was a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with square ends used to transport freight and passengers on inland waterways in the United States. The flatboat could be any size, but essentially it was a large, sturdy tub with a ...

s at all river stages. Randolph became the center of steamboat commerce in Tennessee. The town was an early rival of

over commercial superiority on the Mississippi River. In 1830, Randolph was the most important shipping point in Tennessee. In the mid-1830s, Randolph shipped up to 40,000 bales of cotton on the Mississippi River every year. More cotton was shipped from Randolph than from Memphis until 1840. At the peak of its commercial success, the community was called the "great steamboat depot of

". By 1829, Randolph had three commission warehouses, six dry goods stores, ten physicians and one

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern t ...

. In 1834, Randolph had a population of approximately 1,000. By that time, the town had four

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

s, almost fifty businesses, private

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...

s, and more than ten

saloons Saloon may refer to: Buildings and businesses * One of the bars in a traditional British pub * An alternative name for a bar (establishment) * Western saloon, a historical style of American bar * The Saloon, a bar and music venue in San Francisc ...

. In the 1830s, two newspapers were published in Randolph, the ''Randolph Recorder'' and the ''Randolph Whig''. In the 1830s, the first bank was founded and a stagecoach line provided a connection between Randolph and

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

twice a week. The commercial success of Randolph can be attributed in part to the use of

slave labor Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, mostly for the cultivation of

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

. Corn, beans and

pea The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

s were also cultivated. In the ''Randolph Recorder'' during the early 1830s, landowners announced public auctions of slaves or offered rewards for runaway or stolen slaves.

Decline

The fortunes of Randolph declined in the later 1840s and the 1850s due to many factors, starting shortly after the establishment of the town. Five years after the settlement was founded, a dispute over the ownership of the land the town was established on, arose over a faulty

land title In property law, title is an intangible construct representing a bundle of rights in (to) a piece of property in which a party may own either a legal interest or equitable interest. The rights in the bundle may be separated and held by different ...

with land owner Ann Grambelling from New York. Until 1835, the pending lawsuit "prevented the growth of population" in and around Randolph. The residents of the community bought back the land their town was founded on for $8,000 in a settlement. An unfavorable mail line also had an early and lasting influence on the fortunes of the town. When the mail route was established in 1829, Randolph was put at the end of a branch route of the mail line and received mail only once a week. Failed

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

development further contributed to the demise of the town; and in 1852, residents of Randolph unsuccessfully tried to move the county seat from Covington to Randolph. Financial depression and

David Crockett David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. He is often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of ...

's failed attempt to cut a canal from the

to the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other name ...

also were problems that had a negative impact on the future of commercial prosperity in Randolph. During the

, the town was burned down twice, in September 1862 and again in 1865, discouraging many residents from re-building residences and businesses a second time.

Civil War

Fortifications

Randolph TN Ft Wright powder mag entrance iii

Fort Wright was the first Confederate Army fortification built at Randolph. On January 20, 1861, the Memphis ''Appeal'' published a pro-

secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...

ist proposal to build a fort at Randolph to defend Memphis. In April 1861,

Tennessee Governor The governor of Tennessee is the head of government of the U.S. state of Tennessee. The governor is the only official in Tennessee state government who is directly elected by the voters of the entire state. The current governor is Bill Lee, a ...

Isham G. Harris ordered to establish a camp and complete the fortification at Randolph. About 5,000 troops from Tennessee,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

and the Confederate Army were stationed at the location to accomplish the task. By June 1861, fifty cannons were reported to be ready at Fort Wright. Nathan Bedford Forrest (1821–77) trained at Fort Wright. Forrest and other future leaders in the

and the

Army of Tennessee The Army of Tennessee was the principal Confederate army operating between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. It was formed in late 1862 and fought until the end of the war in 1865, participating in ...

received training at Fort Wright. The fort was Tennessee's first military training camp in which soldiers could gain experience in the construction of fortifications and the setup of artillery batteries. Fort Wright was the forwardmost defensive position on the Mississippi River until July 1861. In 2008, only a powder magazine is left of Fort Wright. Fort Randolph, the second Confederate stronghold in the area during the Civil War, was constructed in Fall 1861. The fortification was situated on the Mississippi River bluffs, about southwest of Fort Wright. In a dispatch published by the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

in March 1862, Fort Randolph is described as a "rough and incomplete earthwork (...), more than 100 feet above the river". The position of the fortification allowed a view of the Mississippi River for , both upstream and downstream. In 2008, Fort Randolph is no longer in existence.

Destruction

Randolph TN Union fleet passing Ft Randolph

In 1862, Union Army

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

William T. Sherman William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

(1820–91) and his troops assumed control of

and the surrounding areas. While trying to keep the area under Union control, Sherman became "frustrated by the constant guerrilla activity in his sector". Confederate

guerrillas Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tacti ...

from the Randolph area weakened the Union forces along the Mississippi River. In September 1862, the Union supply ship ''Eugene'' was fired at from Randolph. Sherman ordered to "destroy the place, leaving one house to mark the place". Union Army soldiers burned down Randolph in retaliation for the guerrilla attack. To his superior officer,

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

, Sherman reported that he had "given public notice that a repetition

f guerrilla attacks F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. His ...

will justify any measures of retaliation". Randolph was burned down a second time by federal soldiers in 1865.

Geography and climate

Geography

Randolph is located at . The elevation above sea level is . The surface soil in the Randolph area is composed mostly of

loam of different qualities and at different stages of

. About 15% of the surface soil consists of "Adler silt loam" with a slope of 0–1%, found in the frequently flooded plains at Randolph. About 20% of the soil is severely eroded "Memphis silt loam" with 12–25% slopes, and ca. 35% of the soil consists of "Memphis silt loam" with 20–40% slopes. Less than 8% consists of moderately eroded "Memphis silt loam" with slopes from 1–5%. The remaining surface soil is composed of other silts,

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...

s or

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

s, including "Robinsonville fine sandy loam" (ca. 6%) and "Tunica clay" (ca. 1.5%). Approximately 1.5% of the area is covered by water. The parent material of the "Memphis silt loam" is

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

loess. Loess is a fine-grained, slightly coherent,

y, windblown sediment. Eroded loess consists of extremely fine, sandy particles and forms silt in environments that provide sufficient moisture of the soil, usually caused by occasional flooding or

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

. Soil derived from eroded loess is sometimes also referred to as loess.

Landscape

The settlement of Randolph is situated on top of the second

, on the eastern bank of the

in Tipton County. The four Chickasaw Bluffs are high grounds above the

flood plains A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

, composed of eroded

pre-historic Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

loess over

gravel. The Chickasaw Bluffs west of the community, on the banks of the Mississippi River, and flat cotton-fields east of Randolph dominate the

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

landscape surrounding the settlement. In the last 150 years, the general landscape around Randolph has not changed much. In 1862, the

hinterland Hinterland is a German word meaning "the land behind" (a city, a port, or similar). Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated ...

of the town is described to be "full of ravines and gorges".

Ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

s or canyons carved from the landscape as a product of

, caused by a stream or river or by seasonal

, funneling water towards less elevated locations of the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

. The landscape cut into the soil of the Mississippi River bluffs by water erosion for centuries is still present in modern times.

Roads

Randolph TN 14 Ballard Slough Rd unpaved portion

In 1833, a stagecoach road from Randolph to

in Madison County, east of Randolph, was established. The

antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum ...

route connected the two towns as well as the villages along the way two times per week. Randolph and Memphis were connected by a direct travel route later in the 1830s. The road was part of a mail line between Jackson and Memphis in Shelby County on which mail was delivered weekly on horseback. The exact routing of the segment between Randolph and Memphis is unknown. A fragment of the route bearing the former name, about in length, was in existence until about 2005. The remaining piece of Old Randolph Road was located about north of the mouth of the Wolf River and east of the Mississippi River, just south of the mouth of the

Loosahatchie River The Loosahatchie River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 3, 2011 stream in southwestern Tennessee. Except for a few miles near its head, its mouth, and near the ...

in Memphis. As of 2010, the remaining fragment of Old Randolph Road is destroyed, the land on which the historic mail route was located is used as an industrial property. A publication dated 1862, reports that Randolph is "approached in the rear by several good roads". In 2008, Randolph is located near "good roads" as well as it was during the Civil War, with the exception that modern roads in the area are

paved Pavement may refer to: * Pavement (architecture), an outdoor floor or superficial surface covering * Road surface, the durable surfacing of roads and walkways ** Asphalt concrete, a common form of road surface * Sidewalk or pavement, a walkway ...

for the most part.

U.S. Route 51 U.S. Route 51 or U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) is a major south-north United States highway that extends from the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana, to within of the Wisconsin–Michigan state line. As most of the United States Numbered Highw ...

passes Randolph in the southeast and

Tennessee State Route 59 State Route 59 (SR 59) is a state highway in Tennessee. It runs from the Mississippi River to just north of Somerville, Tennessee, Somerville passing through Tipton County, Tennessee, Tipton and Fayette County, Tennessee, Fayette counties. Exclu ...

(TN 59) passes southeast of the town. Four roads at county level converge at Randolph, as shown in the table below. A portion of Ballard Slough Road is located in the flood plains, this segment is prone to flooding and unpaved. Randolph dikes USACE Nav Bul 2 2006

Waterways

Randolph is located on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, just south of the lower mouth of the

. In the 1820s, the

at Randolph was accessible to steamboats for upriver to Bolivar in Hardeman County. The

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

(USACE) is the federal agency responsible for

navigable A body of water, such as a river, canal or lake, is navigable if it is deep, wide and calm enough for a water vessel (e.g. boats) to pass safely. Such a navigable water is called a ''waterway'', and is preferably with few obstructions against di ...

waters and

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

protection, among many other peacetime and wartime tasks. From 2005 to 2007, the USACE spent $9,773,662 to ensure the navigation of the Mississippi River at Randolph for boats and

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

s and to provide flood protection for the immediately surrounding areas of the town. Contracts include surveying and

map A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes. Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...

ping, engineering and construction, as well as tasks related to conservation and development of the Mississippi River and the river basin at Randolph. Maintenance related projects include dredging of the navigable channel of the Mississippi River at Randolph to remove

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sa ...

ed sand and mud. Tasks related to conservation include

dike Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes ...

construction to protect low-lying areas at Randolph from flooding and subsequent erosion. The ''Navigation Bulletin No. 2'', issued by the USACE in 2006, describes a stone dike construction at Randolph with an approximate elevation of at river mile 770L.

Earthquakes

Randolph TN earthquake 1994-08-19 location

Located on the southeastern edge of the

, the settlement of Randolph is situated in an area with a high

risk. Between 1974 and 2004, ten earthquakes have been recorded in a radius of around Randolph. The magnitude of the temblors ranged from 1.5 to 3.2 on the

Richter scale The Richter scale —also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale—is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 ...

. The

hypocenter In seismology, a hypocenter or hypocentre () is the point of origin of an earthquake or a subsurface nuclear explosion. A synonym is the focus of an earthquake. Earthquakes An earthquake's hypocenter is the position where the strain energy ...

depth ranged from to . In the same time period, at a radius of around Randolph, forty five earthquakes have been reported with magnitudes ranging from 1.0 to 3.2 at a depth between and . The highest magnitude earthquake recorded in the area since 1974 occurred on August 19, 1994 – the temblor was measured 3.2 on the Richter scale with an epicenter at coordinates , ca. west of Randolph, at a depth of . On January 16, 2009 at 3:09 p.m. local time (21:09 UTC), "a small earthquake shook portions of Tipton County". The earthquake was measured at a magnitude 2.8 on the Richter scale. According to the Center for Earthquake Research and Information (CERI), the epicenter of the temblor was reported to be at coordinates at a depth of . There were no reports of damage caused by the earthquake. The location of the epicenter was near the first

, about east of

Fort Pillow State Park Fort Pillow State Historic Park is a state park in western Tennessee that preserves the American Civil War site of the Battle of Fort Pillow. The 1,642 acre (6.6 km²) Fort Pillow, located in Lauderdale County on the Chickasaw Bluffs over ...

and ca. northeast of Randolph. Smaller earthquakes along the New Madrid Seismic Zone are not uncommon.

Climate

Randolph is located in a humid subtropical climate zone. The climate is characterized by hot, humid summers and chilly to mild winters. Significant amounts of precipitation occur in all seasons. At Randolph, July is the warmest month on the average. In 1930, the highest recorded temperature was measured at . January is the coolest month on the average. In 1951, the lowest recorded temperature was measured at .

Precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

peaks in December on the average. The table below displays the average monthly high and low temperatures and precipitation at Randolph.

Economy

Agriculture is the predominating source of income in the area surrounding Randolph, especially the cultivation of cotton. Corn, beans and peas were also cultivated during the last century . After the

abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

in 1865, sharecropping was the primary means of income for low income families in the area. Mostly for the cultivation of cotton, land would be used by sharecroppers in return for a share of the crop to the landowner. Modern machines such as the

cotton picker A cotton picker is either a machine that harvests cotton, or a person who picks ripe cotton fibre from the plants. The machine is also referred to as a cotton harvester. History In many societies, like America, slave and serf labor was utiliz ...

have made the manual cultivation obsolete over time as they took over the work from the manual laborers. In 2008, Randolph has a population of c. 200, and consists of about two dozen dwellings. The economy of the rural community is dominated by agriculture with no major industries and businesses present.

Culture

Churches

Randolph United Methodist Church

In 1834, Reverend Samuel R. Davidson became the first

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

at Randolph. He was appointed by the ''Tennessee Conference'' of the United Methodist Church. After his appointment as a pastor of the community, a congregation formed around Davidson and built a church at Randolph. The second church at Randolph was built by the congregation in 1883. In 1953, construction of a new church was completed, the building was remodeled in 1975 and serves as a place of

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recogniti ...

for the Methodist congregation of Randolph as of 2008. The United Methodist Church at Randolph had 78 pastors as of 1983. In 2008, Reverend Thomas M. Yoder and Reverend Ben Rainey are the appointed pastors at the Randolph Methodist community. Randolph United Methodist Church is located at 98 Ballard Slough Road. The worship attendance for the church is reported as 76 members of the congregation on the average.

Randolph Assembly of God

Randolph Assembly of God is a second place of worship in the town; the church was founded in 2001. In 2008, the congregation is led by Pastor Larry Rose and Pastor Frank Russell. Randolph Assembly of God is located at 1135 Randolph Road.

Randolph Bluff Historic Park

On October 11, 2008, the Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation, a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, dedicated Randolph Bluff Historic Park in a celebration with

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

conservationists The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental, and social movement that seeks to manage and protect natural resources, including animal, fungus, and plant species as well as their habitat for the f ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

s and community members. The property on the second Chickasaw Bluff was purchased for $378,000. The park is intended to promote the Civil War history of the community and make the unique views of the Mississippi River available to a wider public, additional revenue from tourism is expected for the community. Once ''Randolph Bluff Historic Park'' is finished, it will be part of the Mississippi River Corridor Tennessee, a project to "create a scenic byway that connects historic sites along the Mississippi River", the project also promotes economical development and the preservation of land and wildlife in the Tennessee counties bordering the Mississippi River.

Girl Scouts Heart of the South

Girl Scouts Heart of the South is a girl scout organization serving 16,500 girls in the Memphis metropolitan area, including counties in West

, North

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

and Crittenden County,

. Girl Scouts Heart of the South operates six camps and one training center in their area of coverage, including a property in Tipton County, "Camp Annemeekee". The scout camp is located on Girl Scout Road south of Randolph.

Cemeteries

Randolph TN Historic Randolph Cemetery 05 sign

* Old Randolph Cemetery is at coordinates . * Historic Randolph Cemetery is on McClerkin Lane at coordinates . Graves in the cemetery date from the early 19th century to present day.

Postal

A post office was established at Randolph in 1827. The Randolph Post Office was in operation until 1932. The exact location of the post office at Randolph is unknown. In 2008, the U.S. ZIP code for Randolph is 38015 ( Burlison, Tennessee). The telephone area code is 901 ( Memphis metro area).

Notable natives

* William Clyde Martin (1893–1984), a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

of three

churches, born in Randolph on July 28, 1893.

References

{{authority control Memphis metropolitan area Tennessee populated places on the Mississippi River Unincorporated communities in Tipton County, Tennessee Unincorporated communities in Tennessee 1820s establishments in Tennessee