Atoka, Tennessee
| Atoka, Tennessee | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
 |
|
 Location in Tipton County and the state of Tennessee. |
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| Coordinates: 35°25′29″N 89°46′58″W / 35.42472°N 89.78278°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Tennessee |
| County | Tipton |
| Incorporated | 1838 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | W. Daryl Walker |
| Area | |
| • Total | 11.65 sq mi (17.3 km2) |
| • Land | 11.64 sq mi (17.3 km2) |
| • Water | 0.01 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 433 ft (132 m) |
| Population (2013) | |
| • Total | 8,844 |
| • Density | 485.0/sq mi (187.3/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 38004 |
| Area code(s) | 901 |
| FIPS code | 47-02340 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1275973 |
| Website | www |
Atoka /ə.ˈtoʊ.kə/ is a town in Tipton County, Tennessee, United States. Historians and genealogists can trace Atoka's origins back to the 1838 charter of Portersville. Atoka adopted Portersville's charter as its own. World War I Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Joseph B. Adkison lived in Atoka, and he is buried nearby.
Five public parks exist within the town limits. The population was 8,387 at the 2010 census, making Atoka the second largest municipality in Tipton County. The town has grown significantly since the 1990 census, at which time the population was only 659.Covington, the county seat, has the largest population.
From the fiftieth anniversary of the Covington Leader, 1886 to 1936:
The trading center for the Atoka area before the rise of the town was Portersville...
With the coming of the railroad in 1872 and opening of stores in Atoka, there grew up an intense rivalry between the two towns, but Atoka's advantage of the railroad proved to be too much, and Portersville gradually died out. Today not a store or store building remains in Portersville and it passes into history...
A peek into the life of John McLaughlin, a citizen of both towns, gives us some idea of what Portersville and Atoka were like:
Our subject received a collegiate education at Bellenyna College, Ireland and in 1852 came to America, landing at Charleston, S. C.; then immediately went to Chester, S. C., and spent three years learning the carriage-maker's trade, when he moved to Aberdeen, Miss., and established a factory of his own, and three years later moved to Portersville, Tipton County, and continued the business five years, then went into merchandising and farming, selling goods at Portersville two years, then moved to Atoka and continued the mercantile business over ten years, and since that time has given his attention exclusively to farming and running a steam cotton-gin, which he owns.
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Wikipedia