Old Water Tower near Covington

This old water tower is situated near the sprawling town of Covington in Newton County. The water tower sits across the CSX "Georgia Road" railroad line, just behind Covington Mills.
The water tower was seen in the TV show "In the Heat of the Night" which was filmed in Covington between 1988 and 1995 and you can still see the name of the town from the TV show "Sparta" for Sparta, MS on the side of the tower. I have not been able to track down more in depth history of the water tower.
Van Byous