It was the first town incorporated in West Tennessee, followed by Lexington on October 9, 1824, and Memphis on December 19, 1826.

[8][9][10] The city was named after Paris, France, in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, a hero of the American Revolutionary War.

Because of internal conflicts, most Old Beachy Amish left the region in the early 1990s and had completely vacated it by 2000.

Prior to the early 1960s, young black children attended segregated schools.

Also beginning in the 1960s, there was a gradual process of integration of the races in business around the town, also largely peaceful.

[7] The city is drained primarily to the east, by tributaries of West Sandy Creek, flowing to the Tennessee River in Kentucky Lake.

The climate of Paris is humid subtropical (Köppen Cfa) with mild winters and hot summers.

Local companies manufacture brakes, small electric motors, aftermarket auto parts, metal doors, rubber parts, school laboratory furniture and Ready to Eat Foods.

[20] Eiffel Tower Park provides tennis courts, a public Olympic-sized swimming pool, soccer fields, two walking trails, two children's playgrounds with pavilions, a splash pad, and a frisbee golf course.

Many large events of musical nature take place in the city's auditorium, the Krider Performing Arts Center.

The Paris Academy for the Arts offers classes and workspace for local artists.