Tirupattur

Early and medieval history

The antiquity of the settlement has been associated with inscriptions recorded in and around Tirupattur. The town has been referred to by a number of historical names, including Sri Madhava Chaturvedi Mangalam, Veera Narayana Chaturvedi Mangalam, Tiruperur, Brahmapuram and Brahmeeswaram. These names have been associated with periods of rule under the Cholas, Hoysalas and Vijayanagara Empire.^{[citation needed]}

A local explanation preserved by the district administration associates the present name with ten shrines situated around the settlements of Aathiyur and Kotiyur. The same administrative account records earlier forms including Brahmapuram, Thiruporur and Thiruvanapuram, and states that the name Tirupathur was in use during the Vijayanagara period.

Colonial and military period

By the late eighteenth century, Tirupattur had acquired administrative importance under the East India Company. Following the establishment of Company authority in the region, Alexander Read, the first Collector associated with the district administration, established his headquarters at Tirupattur in 1792. The town consequently served as an early administrative centre of the territory that was later organised as Salem district.

Military memoirs from the beginning of the nineteenth century contain two references to places rendered as Trippatore and Tripatoor. In 1801, during operations connected with the Polygar Wars, Colonel James Welsh recorded an old fortified position called the Fort of Trippatore. On 27 August a detachment under Major Sheppard reached the place after a fourteen-mile march while assisting a force commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel James Innes. On the following day the detachment was ordered to return rapidly and secure the fort before opposing forces could occupy it, after which troops were encamped within and around the position.

The identification of this 1801 Trippatore with the present town is not established by Welsh's account itself. The episode occurred during operations centred on the Sherewele jungle and associated supply routes, and the spelling alone is insufficient to establish geographical identity.

A more securely identifiable reference occurs in Welsh's account of a journey undertaken in February 1824. After leaving Vellore for Travancore, the recorded itinerary passed through Vaniyambadi and then Tripatoor, before continuing towards Muttoor and Dharmapuri. This geographical sequence corresponds with Tirupattur's position on the inland route south-west of Vaniyambadi.

Tripatoor was reached after a fifteen-mile stage. A travelling bungalow was recorded at the settlement, together with a stone-built pond containing an island and surrounded by peepul trees. The road was reported to have been reasonably passable on foot but comparatively poor for wheeled carriage. The description provides an early nineteenth-century record of the town as a recognised stopping point on the route between Vaniyambadi and the Salem interior.

Modern administrative history

The town continued to develop as a local administrative centre during the later colonial period. A municipality was constituted in 1886 as a third-grade municipality. It was upgraded to second grade in 1970 under Government Order No. 194 and to first grade with effect from 1 April 1977 under Government Order No. 654.

A further reclassification was made in December 2008, when Tirupattur was upgraded to a selection-grade municipality under Government Order No. 283 of the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department.

Administratively, Tirupattur subsequently formed part of Vellore district. In 2019 the former district was divided to create the new districts of Tirupathur and Ranipet, while a reduced Vellore district was retained. The creation of Tirupathur district was formally provided for in Government Order (Ms) No. 430 of the Revenue and Disaster Management Department, dated 12 November 2019, with Tirupattur designated as the district headquarters. The new district administration was formally inaugurated later that month.

Climate

Tirupathur is known for recording the coolest temperature in the Tamil Nadu plains during winter. The seasonal climate conditions are moderate and the weather is uniformly salubrious. The town experiences sweltering summers and warm winters. The town gets the majority of its rainfall during the south west monsoon period. September and October are the wettest months with around 400 mm (16 in) of rain. The town also experiences fairly frequent thunderstorms in late April and May, which gives necessary relief from the heat, along with a dip in night temperatures. The warmest nights are in May, when the town has an average minimum temperature of 23.4 °C (74.1 °F). The coldest nights are in January, when the average minimum temperatures drop to 16.1 °C (61.0 °F). May is the hottest month with an average maximum of 37.0 °C (98.6 °F). The highest ever temperature recorded in the town is 46.3 °C (115.3 °F) on 7 May 1976. The lowest ever recorded temperature is 10.2 °C (50.4 °F) on 15 December 1974. The highest 24‑hour precipitation is 167.3 mm (6.59 in) received on 4 November 1966. The average annual rainfall being received in the town is 877 mm (34.5 in). The climate is classified as tropical. In winter, there is much less rainfall than in summer. This climate is considered to be a tropical savanna climate (Aw according to the Köppen–Geiger climate classification).