History of Memphis

Named after the capital of ancient Egypt, Memphis is a hustling, enterprising metropolis with trade running through its veins. Located in the state of Tennessee, the city of Memphis has an estimated population of 680,768 making it the largest city in the state, and the 17th largest in the United States.

Memphis is set high on the eastern bank of the mighty Mississippi River, in the southwestern corner of Tennessee and is known the world over as an immensely musical city - the cradle of the blues, the birthplace of rock n roll, and the home of Graceland, Elvis Presleys flamboyant mansion.

Early Memphis

Long before Columbus, the Chickasaw Indians found their way to the current Memphis area; the flat plains made cultivation easy and the proximity of the river insured an abundant supply of water. The same factors that drew the Chickasaw here made the area attractive to the European explorers. Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto is believed to have visited what is now the Memphis area as early as the 1540s. By the 1680s, French explorers led by Ren Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle built Fort Prudhomme in the vicinity, the first European settlement in what would become Memphis, predating English settlements in East Tennessee by more than 70 years.

Birth of the city

Despite such early outposts, the land comprising present-day Memphis remained a largely unorganised territory throughout most of the 18th century, while the boundaries of what would become Tennessee continued to evolve from its parent - the Carolina Colony, later North Carolina and South Carolina. By 1796, the community was the westernmost point of the newly admitted state of Tennessee.
Memphis was founded in 1819 by John Overton, James Winchester and Andrew Jackson and was incorporated as a city in 1826. The city was named after the ancient capital of Egypt on the Nile River.

Memphis became the centre for trade of two kinds: cotton and slaves. Plantation owners from Mississippi brought their cotton up the river to sell and returned home with new workers for their fields. This trade sparked an economic boom in Memphis, resulting in the building of luxury hotels and the establishment of a number of businesses.

Civil War

In 1845, Memphis became the site of a naval shipyard, bringing a new source of revenue to the area. With the completion of the Memphis-Charleston Railroad, goods could be shipped east to the Atlantic Ocean, making Memphis the transportation hub it would remain. At the time of the American Civil War, Memphis was already an important regional city because of its river trade and railroad connections.

Tennessee seceded from the Union in June 1861 and Memphis briefly became a Confederate stronghold. Union forces captured Memphis from Confederacy in the Battle of Memphis on June 6, 1862, and the city remained under Union control for the duration of the war, except for a dramatic raid conducted by Nathan Bedford Forrest. Memphis became a Union supply base and continued to prosper throughout the war.

Yellow fever strikes

Extensive yellow fever epidemics in the 1870s killed more than half of Memphis population of 16,000, halting economic and social progress. At that time, it was not understood that this fatal disease was carried by mosquitoes, so public health measures were unsuccessful. Many who did not fall victim to the disease fled the area, believing that the river waters were unhealthy. The devastation was so severe that Memphis had to give up its city charter in 1879. Eventually improvements in sanitation removed the mosquito breeding grounds and the city began to grow again.

Memphis in the 20th century

From the 1910s to the 1950s, Memphis was a hotbed of machine politics under the direction of the powerful E H "Boss" Crump. This part of the 20th century saw the flowering of jazz and the blues as musical forms. Beale Street became the home of nightclubs where musicians such as W C Handy experimented with new musical forms born from the combination of spirituals, folk music and even square dance rhythms. When Crump commissioned Handy to write a campaign song to help him run for mayor, it signalled a formal acceptance of these new art forms.

Crump presided over Memphis for almost fifty years, during which time African-American musicians such as Handy, B B King and Rufus Thomas put Memphis on the national map. During the Crump era, Memphis developed an extensive network of parks and public works as part of the National City Beautiful Movement. During the 1960s, the city was at the centre of civil rights issues, notably as the location of a sanitation workers strike. Memphis is also known as the place where Martin Luther King, Jr was assassinated on April 4, 1968 at the Lorraine Motel.

Modern Memphis

The history of Memphis is based on its geographic location. First, it was the Mississippi River that transported goods north and south. Then came the railroads, bisecting the country from east to west and changing Memphis from a port into a hub. Most recently, its been the aeroplanes of Federal Express, carrying packages to every corner of the globe, elevating the local economy and inspiring a new sense of pride in both long-term residents and newcomers.

Downtown Memphis has experienced quite a rebirth and renewal in the last few years. The centre of the city is clean, full of new development, and a great place to spend a day. In the past few years, the city has emerged to boast one of the largest downtown populations among US cities. Citizens once again have a vested interest in making downtown safe, exciting and a great place to visit and to relax in.