The Early History of Tipton County Churches
Religious life in Tipton County developed gradually during the early 19th century. In Covington, the Presbyterians established the town’s very first congregation in 1829, later merging with the Mt. Carmel Presbyterian Church in 1839. The Baptists followed as the second denomination in the area, organizing their first Covington church in 1839 before relocating outside of the town limits in 1847.
According to Mason town historian John Marshall, the earliest record of a local Methodist congregation dates back to 1833. That year, Colonel Robert Paine—uncle of the prominent Methodist Episcopal Church, South Bishop Robert Paine—deeded one acre of land to a group of trustees from Tipton and Fayette counties. These trustees included Isaac Clark, James Roddy, Irvin R. Sherrod, James N. Shelton, William Rives, and Alexander Whitmore. Known as a “meeting house,” this original church was named Sharon, though the name was omitted from the initial deed. It sat about a mile north of the modern Methodist church on what is now known as the Booker place, located on the east side of Highway 59 just south of Jack Pond Road.
The Belmont Methodist Church later emerged, apparently splitting off from the Sharon congregation. Its original trustees were William Rives, James N. Shelton, James A. Manley, Fisher A. Westmoreland, Alexander Whitmore, Beverly Anderson, and James E. Mason. In 1841, Major Edwin Whitmore donated two acres to the Belmont church, which was then overseen by a updated board of trustees: Reverend Henry W. Sale, William Rives, James E. Mason, Fisher A. Westmoreland, and Colonel Robert Tucker. The congregation grew quickly; by 1847, Belmont’s Sunday School records proudly documented two superintendents, ten teachers, fifty scholars, and a dedicated library.
Exploring Tipton County Churches and Cemeteries
Below, you will find a detailed list of Tipton County churches along with a brief history of each congregation.
In addition to the houses of worship, I have compiled records for local cemeteries located within Tipton County and near Mason in neighboring Fayette County. Wherever possible, historical backgrounds have been included alongside the records. You can click on any church or cemetery name below to view its unique history and burial transcriptions. (Note: If you can picture where a graveyard is located but can’t quite recall the name, you can use the interactive map to locate it.)
Want to learn more? If you are interested in the meaning behind historical headstone carvings, you can read our guide on funerary art and acronyms. This post features written breakdowns alongside photos of historic headstones from right here in Tipton County and across the country.
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1858 Randolph Circuit
To understand the scope of the 1858 Randolph Circuit, it helps to picture the world of a mid-nineteenth-century Methodist “circuit rider.” Rather than serving a single building, a pastor like the Reverend W. H. Adams or his contemporaries lived on horseback. The 16 appointments scattered across southwest and western Tipton County (stretching into what is ...
A W Smith Cemetery
A Legacy in Stone: The A.W. Smith Cemetery Nestled in the heart of Brighton, Tennessee, the A.W. Smith Cemetery stands as a quiet, historic sanctuary reflecting the deep genealogical roots of Tipton County. Located on East Kenwood Avenue, this small burial ground serves as a permanent chronicle of the pioneering families who helped shape the region ...
Adams Cemetery
Adams Cemetery stands as a quiet testament to the region’s deep-rooted agricultural and community history. Located near Munford along Drummonds Road, this historic burial ground offers a physical timeline for the Adams family who cleared, farmed, and built the surrounding area from the 19th century onward. As a resting place tightly woven into the local fabric, ...
Alston Cemetery
Huddled in the rural community of Gilt Edge in northeastern Tipton County, Tennessee, the Alston Cemetery stands as a deeply significant cultural and historical landmark. Alternatively recorded on county maps and street signs as “Austin Cemetery,” this sacred African-American burial ground preserves the rich kinship, resilience, and complex genealogical lines of families who shaped the ...
Armstrong Family Cemetery
The Armstrong Family Cemetery, historically referred to in local property deeds as the Armstrong Family Graveyard, is a small, significant African-American burial ground located in the rural community of Drummonds in Tipton County, Tennessee. Situated on the north side of Armstrong Road at the precise geographic coordinates of 35.426968oN, -89.877470oW, the cemetery rests at the ...
Atoka Presbyterian Church
The history of the Atoka Presbyterian Church (historically and presently known as Atoka Evangelical Presbyterian Church) is inextricably linked to the very birth, naming, and spiritual identity of the town of Atoka in southern Tipton County, Tennessee. Rooted deeply in the early pioneer settlements of the nineteenth century and the dramatic arrival of the iron ...
Atoka United Methodist Church
Nestled in the southern region of Tipton County, Tennessee, Atoka United Methodist Church (often referred to locally as Atoka UMC) stands as a vital pillar of spiritual life, local heritage, and community outreach. For generations, the church has mirrored the steady growth and evolving landscape of the town of Atoka itself, transitioning from a quiet, ...
Avery Church & Cemetery
Avery Church and Cemetery (historically documented in various local records as Avery Chapel or Avery Cemetery) is a historic African American sacred site located in Tipton County, Tennessee, near Covington. Bound closely to the post-Civil War growth of the community along Leigh’s Chapel Road, this location represents a crucial, yet often under-documented, pocket of the county’s ...
Banyan Payne Family Cemetery
Deep within the southern corridors of Tipton County, Tennessee—stretching across the historically interconnected communities of Atoka and Brighton—lies the Banyan Payne Family Cemetery. This small, domestic burial ground stands as a starkly intimate reminder of the antebellum family structures and migration paths that defined rural West Tennessee during the nineteenth century. Unlike large public or ...
Barrow Cemetery
Isolated by the River: The History of Barrow Cemetery on Island 37 The geography of the American South is often defined by its waters, but few rivers have reshaped human lives—and the final resting places of the dead—as dramatically as the Mississippi. Tucked away on a geographic anomaly known as Island 37, Barrow Cemetery stands as ...
Beaver Baptist Church
Located in the heart of rural Tipton County, Tennessee, Beaver Baptist Church stands as a vibrant, enduring center of faith and community fellowship. Situated at 9344 Holly Grove Road—anchoring the countryside between the growing towns of Brighton and Munford—this Southern Baptist congregation serves as an essential spiritual and social touchstone for generations of families living ...
Beech Chapel CME Church & Cemetery
Situated along the quiet stretches of Mason-Charleston Road in Mason, Tennessee, Beech Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church stands as a deeply resilient monument to the African American community of southeastern Tipton County. Located at 4044 Mason-Charleston Road, this historic congregation has been an anchor of faith, fellowship, and family identity for well over a ...
Bethel Cumberland Presbyterian Church and Cemetery
Situated in the south-central portion of Tipton County, Tennessee, near the boundaries of the historic Rosemark district and Atoka, Bethel Cumberland Presbyterian Church and its accompanying cemetery stand as an essential pillar of regional pioneer faith, family lineage, and community stewardship. Located on Tracy Road, just off Bethel Road, this historic site has served as ...
Brazziel Family Cemetery
Deep within the rural, agricultural landscape of Tipton County, Tennessee, family burying grounds serve as private sanctuaries of history, preserving the names and stories of the pioneers who cleared the wilderness after the county’s formation in 1823. Among these intimate, domestic plots is the Brazziel Family Cemetery. Reflecting a deeply traditional Southern custom, this small, ...
Brighton Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church
The history of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian (ARP) denomination in Tipton County, Tennessee, is inextricably linked to the initial wave of Scotch-Irish migration that transformed the West Tennessee frontier. Settlers from the Carolinas and Chester Districts journeyed westward in the early 1830s, bringing with them a deeply rooted Covenanter heritage, a strict adherence to Reformed ...
Brighton Baptist Church
The spiritual and civic development of Brighton, Tennessee, is deeply intertwined with the arrival of the railroad and the subsequent growth of its community institutions. Founded in 1873 along the newly completed tracks of the Memphis and Paducah Railroad, the town grew rapidly on land donated by A. W. Smith, Sr. Within just a few ...
Bryan Family Cemetery
Deep within the rural community of Garland, situated in the northwestern quadrant of Tipton County, Tennessee, lies the Bryan Family Cemetery. This tiny, historic burial ground serves as a solemn monument to the nineteenth-century agrarian families who cleared the West Tennessee landscape. Located within the sweeping agricultural terrain that characterizes the Garland area—historically a bustling ...
Byrd Burying Ground
The deep-seated custom of family land stewardship is vividly preserved in the rural landscapes of West Tennessee through private domestic plots. Among the most historically significant of these in south Tipton County is the Byrd Burying Ground (frequently recorded in early deeds and family journals as the Bird Burying Ground). Established on an acre of ...
Campground Cemetery
Situated at 9160 Campground Road near the historic community of Drummonds, Tennessee 38023, Campground Cemetery stands as a sweeping, multi-generational archive of south Tipton County’s frontier origins and agrarian development. Nestled in the rolling landscape near the Mississippi River bluffs, this sacred ground functions as both a rural landmark and an active final resting place ...
Canaan Missionary Baptist Church
Located at 211 North Main Street in downtown Covington, Tennessee, Canaan Missionary Baptist Church is a monumental pillar of African American heritage, religious devotion, and community endurance in West Tennessee. Established in 1868, just three years after the conclusion of the American Civil War, Canaan holds the proud distinction of being the oldest Black congregation ...