Tipton

History

The Tipton County Courthouse and Tipton County Jail and Sheriff's Home were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The first non-native person to settle in the area now known as Tipton was Samuel King, who purchased land between 1835 and 1836. The land was still a part of Hamilton County. He resided in Rush County, but visited the area frequently. Strawtown, Indiana, was the closest trading post. King decided to found a town on the land he purchased and he platted the town on April 16, 1839. The town was named Kingston. Despite efforts, King failed to sell any of the plots that he platted. A few Miami Indians resided in the area still. In January, 1844, Tipton County was founded and a county seat needed to be created. The county seat was originally going to be located in the middle area of the county, however, Miami Indians resided on the land and they were unable to create a town there. The county commissioners put out a call for landowners to propose that the county seat be placed on their land. King offered to donate 100 acres of Kingston. On October 16, 1844, the commissioners accepted his offer. In 1845, a post office was going to be established in Canton. However, this did not proceed because it was discovered that there was a town already named Canton in the state, which was founded in 1838. The town was renamed Tipton, after John Tipton, a veteran of the Battle of Tippecanoe and the War of 1812. He was also the leader of the Indiana Rangers. Tipton served as United States Senator for Indiana from 1831 until shortly before his death in 1839. Finally, a post office was founded and John S. Ressler became the first postmaster. Around August 1, 1845, the city entered into a cholera epidemic. The majority of residents fled the city. Livestock…

Geography

Tipton is located 42 miles (68 km.) almost due North of the state Capital, Indianapolis and 19 miles southwest of Kokomo, Indiana. According to the 2010 census, Tipton has a total area of , all land. In 1849, the city was covered in trees, underbrush, logs, stumps and wild vines and weeds. A large swamp was located on the southeastern part of the town square. On the north side of the square was a slough. Eastern wolves, bull frogs, deer, mosquitos, and wild game were commonplace.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Tipton Elementary School
  Elementary · Tipton · 668 students · 15.9:1 ratio
• Tipton High School
  High · Tipton · 439 students · 11.9:1 ratio
• Tri Central Middle-High School
  High · Sharpsville · 410 students · 13.2:1 ratio
• Tri Central Elementary
  Elementary · Sharpsville · 377 students · 15.7:1 ratio
• Tipton Middle School
  Middle · Tipton · 335 students · 12.9:1 ratio