History

Megan Ammons, a senior at Harding Academy of Memphis, is on her way to the Nation’s capital after winning the Tennessee 2023 Poetry Out Loud contest.

What better time than Women’s History Month to hit the Memphis Women’s Legacy Trail — a project aimed at documenting, remembering and celebrating the lasting impact of myriad women and their life’s work on the city.

When the Sterick Buiding opened in 1930, at 365 feet it was the tallest building in the South – earning its nickname, the “Queen of Memphis.

Ida B.Wells (1862-1931) was born into slavery during the Civil War.

Each year, the Peabody Hotel’s holiday spirit – rivaled only by the five resident Mallard ducks who emerge twice daily to the delight of gawking guests – is on display in the Reconstruction Era bar and lobby, festooned with all manner of trappings and trimmings come December.

Taking place Dec.26-Jan.

Deep in the heart of downtown Memphis, November 6th Street stands as a monument to our American democracy.

A chorus of Memphis-based voices is in conversation at the Benjamin L.Hooks Central Library.

Miss Jennie M. Higbee arrived in Bluff City in the late 1800s to teach – first at St. Mary’s School followed by a decade at Female High School – before being named head, in 1875, of the newly established Presbyterian Grammar and High School.

Origins of this sweet, southern snack stretch deep into a Kentucky coal mine where, according to a traveling bakery salesman named Earl Mitchell, a miner gave voice to his ideal break-time food – a snack “as big as the moon.

The panoply of flags fluttering along a portion of Summer Avenue speak volumes.

Lide Smith Meriwether led the first generation of southern feminists in Memphis.

Many North and South American families experienced grief and loss during the yellow fever epidemics of the 19th century, but the loss that Memphis had to bear was no contest.

Memphis’ Rhodes College was founded in 1848 as the Masonic University of Tennessee.

One of the most popular New Year’s traditions is making resolutions.

African-American river worker Tom Lee saved 32 people from drowning in the Mississippi River in 1925, and is memorialized today at Memphis’s Tom Lee Park.

Although recognized as a popular wedding venue, the Woodruff-Fontaine House is actually one of Memphis’ most haunted buildings.

Located in the historic Whitehaven Community, Elvis Presley Boulevard is home to many Black-owned businesses — the most historic of which is Tri-State Bank.

In 1865, a cash-strapped steamboat captain learned that he could earn $2.75 per head transporting former Union POWs back up north. 

Imagine strolling through Overton Park to find a bear chained to a tree.

In 1933, Frank Schutt, the general manager of the Peabody Hotel, placed live ducks in the hotel’s fountain as a joke — not knowing that he would inadvertently begin a unique tradition that continues to this day.

In 1837, the 4th of July wasn’t a day of celebration for the 3,000 Chickasaw people gathered in Memphis that day.

Julia Britton Hooks was a musical prodigy who moved to Memphis in 1876, and soon became a well-known performer on Beale Street.

W.C.Handy didn’t discover the blues, but he was the first to put it in writing.

For over 65 years, the Enchanted Forest has served Memphis as a much-awaited holiday harbinger.

The original Orpheum Theatre opened in 1890 as the Grand Opera House, burned down in 1923, and reopened in 1928 as the Orpheum we know today – complete with the ghosts of the original building.

Coletta’s on South Parkway opened in 1923 as “Suburban Ice Cream Company,” where Emil Coletta served up pasta, sandwiches and his own homemade ice cream.

Downtown Memphis is a living history lesson, complete with a beloved riverfront and the last functioning cobblestone port in the country.

We know Memphis is home to the blues, Beale Street and Graceland. Few realize, however, that it’s also the birthplace of the modern-day supermarket.

Originally coined “Satellite” in 1957, Stax Records is largely to thank for the gift of Memphis soul, or the Memphis sound.