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Memphis History continued...
The first inhabitants of the area that is now Memphis were Chickasaw Indians. These Native Americans controlled the bluffs near Memphis one thousand years before foreign explorers entered the region. These early tribes became known as mound builders for the massive mounds that they built that overlook the Mississippi River.
The first European to enter the Memphis area was Hernando DeSoto. Desoto was a Spanish explorer who crossed the Mississippi River in 1541. This triggered a string of visits by European explorers. One hundred years after DeSoto, in 1641, Marquette and Joliet, French explorers, sailed down the river through what is now Memphis. In 1682, Sieur de LaSalle built Fort Prudhomme. Then, in 1739, the French built a garrison in the area, known as Fort Assumption.
In 1763, at the end of the French and Indian War, England controlled the bluffs. This was in spite of the fact, that by treaty, the area still belonged to the Chickasaw Indians. The French, the Indians, the English, the Spanish and the new "Americans" all coexisted peacefully along the river, trading and participating in the usual skirmish. Then, in 1790, Tennessee became a U.S. territory. It then became a state in 1796. Legally, the land belonged to the Chickasaw. However, in 1818, the Chickasaw relinquished their control over the northern territory. Knowing that they would never be able to keep the newcomers at bay, they gave up the land that would eventually become Memphis.
Memphis was actually founded in 1819. It was settled by Andrew Jackson, the future general and president, General James Winchester and Judge John Overton. They had a vision for a new city and the area seemed ideal. The area had already been a fort in its early days. It also had protection from constant flooding, due to the high bluffs that surround the area. The soil in the area was also fertile enough to support agriculture. In addition, the location, halfway between New Orleans and the Ohio Valley made it a valuable port and trading center. In its early days, the city of Memphis was only four blocks wide and had a population of just fifty people.
The first immigrants in Memphis were German and Irish. They established businesses, provided jobs and built some of the first churches in Memphis. Among them was St. Mary's, which is the oldest shrine in the country. During this time, some of the city's first neighborhoods were formed. One of the first neighborhoods formed was the Pinch District. This neighborhood was named for the poor, malnourished Irish railroad workers who lived there.
By the 1840's, the new city was living up to the expectations of its founding fathers. Flatboats loaded with goods for trading and cotton lined the riverbank. The city's saloons were filled with peddlers, fur traders and gamblers. Cotton merchants flocked to Front Street's Cotton Row to sell their "white gold". Along with a successful cotton industry, unfortunately, came a successful slave-trading industry. Slaves did everything from road-building to farming. Memphis was so involved in the slave industry that its four original town squares are named Exchange, Market, Court and Auction. The cotton industry also tied Memphis to the northern United States so much that during the Civil War, many did not want to secede from the Union. However, because the plantation owners were so dependent on slave labor, loyalties in the city were split. During the Civil War, Memphis was under federal occupation for two years. At the end of the war, the city remained a rough one, known for its muddy streets and its lawlessness. In spite of this, Memphis was the sixth largest city in the country with 55,000 citizens. It was also one of the few southern cities that had not been destroyed during the four-year conflict.
Despite this period of success, Memphis hit a downward spiral in the 1860's and 1870's. Because Memphis was now controlled by the Union, it attracted many former slaves. The city guaranteed the freedom of assembly and worship and the right to read. Many black Memphis citizens made important political and economical strides. However, in 1866, a riot between townspeople and the troops at Fort Pickering erupted. Before ex-troops put an end to the violence, forty-two Blacks and two Whites had died, and hundreds were wounded. Along with the deaths, twelve Freedman's schools and more than one hundred Black businesses were burned. In 1872, a yellow fever epidemic swarmed through the city. All in all, it killed more than 5,000 people and sent another 25,000 people seeking safety in other cities. Land values fell drastically and crops were left to die in the fields. As a result, the city lost its charter in 1879. The city went bankrupt, causing newspapers across the state to suggest that the city should be burned and abandoned. In the 1880's, the yellow fever had been eliminated by a new sewer system. The discovery of an artesian water supply also restored health to the city. Memphis remains famous for its pure water today.
In order to help Memphis reconstruct, the city government sold bonds. The first citizen to buy one of the $1,000 bonds was the black millionaire Robert R. Church. Church was an ex-slave who had become a business tycoon and a powerful national Republican leader. In 1917, Robert R. Church formed the first chapter of the NAACP.
Despite segregation and poverty, the city of Memphis thrived. This was mostly due to the river and the cotton industry, which had become known as "King Cotton". As Memphis was making its economic recovery, another important event was taking place on Beale Street. At the time, Beale Street was not necessarily a desirable place. Lined with dice parlors, gin mills and pool halls, Beale Street became the birthplace of "the blues." This homegrown style of music originally developed from songs sung by the slaves in the cotton fields. A wandering black musician named W.C. Handy, was the first musician to write blues music down on paper. Its mix of field hollers, gospel songs, cotton-bailing songs and African tribal songs was the perfect thing for the residents of Beale Street to relate to. Forty years later, the blues infected an aspiring musician named Elvis Aaron Presley. Presley would go on to change the face of modern music. It was these two events, the birth of the blues, and the aspiring Elvis, that coined Memphis the "Home of the Blues" and the "Birthplace of Rock 'n Roll".
In 1968, Memphis became the location for an important civil rights struggle. What began as a labor dispute raised by the City of Memphis Sanitation Workers evolved into a commitment to human dignity, economic equality and a fight against poverty. It was this issue that brought Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Memphis. King, along with the rest of the country, began to shift his focus to the problems of the nation's working poor. Because of his commitment to non-violent changes, Dr. King was shot and killed on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel on April 4, 1968. Riots took place all over the nation as a result.
The city of Memphis continued to be a center of civil rights advocates despite the death of Dr. King. Most recently, the city opened the National Civil Rights Museum, built at the site where Dr. King was assassinated, the Lorraine Motel. Also, the year of the opening of the museum also marked the election of the first African-American mayor in Memphis, Dr. Willie W. Herenton.
Today, Memphis, Tennessee has many important cultural and educational institutions. Among the colleges and universities that call Memphis home are the University of Memphis (formerly known as Memphis State University), the University of Tennessee Medical Units and Rhodes College. Memphis is also the home to many fine museums. Among them are the National Civil Rights Museum, the Children's Museum of Memphis and the Art Museum of the University of Memphis. Visitors to the city of Memphis can also visit Graceland, the former home of “The King,” Elvis Presley. Beale Street remains a very important musical region of the city. Bands play in smoke-filled bars on both sides of the street. Memphis is also home to the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA. The Grizzlies play their home games in the Pyramid, a large building located downtown that plays host to basketball games, concerts and many other events. Whether it's music, culture or professional sports, Memphis Tennessee truly is a city that has it all.
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