| Tennessee (Shelby County), Bartlett — Bartlett, Tennessee |
| | A toll road of 1829 became Stage Road, Bartlett's main street. In 1856 the town was called Union Depot. Incorporated in 1866 and named Bartlett for Major Gabriel Matson Bartlett. Shelby County Courts were held here from 1870-1885. In 1885 Bartlett School was chartered. School erected in 1917 named for Dr. Nicholas Blackwell, a pioneer settler of Bartlett. — Map (db m7543) |
| Tennessee (Shelby County), Bartlett — Nicholas Gotten 1832-1919 |
| | Nicholas Gotten a native of Spangdahlen, Germany, immigrated to America at the age of 22: worked in the north before coming to Tennessee: established himself as a blacksmith in Union Depot (Bartlett) in 1860: enlisted in the Confederate Army (Co. C. Third Tenn. Cav.) of Forrest's regiment 1862: fought at Shiloh and Corinth: served bravely at Bolivar though severely wounded: was captured, exchanged and served to the end of the war. Returned to Bartlett, was a respected miller and ginner. . . . — Map (db m6943) |
| Tennessee (Shelby County), Memphis — 4E 126 — Benjamin Franklin Booth 1858–1941 |
| | Benjamin F. Booth was one of Memphis' earliest and most distinguished African-American lawyers. Starting in 1886, he practiced law for more than 54 years. In 1905, he challenged Tennessee's law authorizing the segregation of black and white passengers on street cars. Some of his cases were heard before the United States Supreme Court. At his death in 1941, Booth was the oldest practicing attorney in Memphis. — Map (db m139) |
| Tennessee (Shelby County), Memphis — Calvary Cemetery |
| | Consecrated in 1867 to serve the booming populations of the Catholic Irish, Germans and Italians, Calvary became the second Catholic Cemetery in Shelby County. Msgr. Martin Riordan, V.G., of St. Patrick Parish, was a leading proponent and advocate during the early development of Calvary Cemetery along with Terence McCarney, one of the early superintendents. The Cemetery contains the remains of over 45,000 of the faithful departed, include the Martyrs of Memphis; Mary Magdalene Hodges, recipient . . . — Map (db m19032) |
| Tennessee (Shelby County), Memphis — 4E 33 — Casey Jones |
| | From a station located on this site the night of Apr. 29. 1900, John Luther Jones, replacing the regularly detailed engineer, took out engine 382, pulling the Illinois Central “Cannonball.” Driving into a blocked switch at Vaughn, Miss., early the following morning, he stayed with his engine to save his passengers. He was the only man to die in the wreck. — Map (db m6862) |
| Tennessee (Shelby County), Memphis — 4E 72 — Elmwood Cemetery |
| | Elmwood Cemetery was established on August 28, 1852. Buried here are Memphis pioneer families: 14 Confederate generals; victims of the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1878; Governors Isham G. Harris and James C. Jones; U.S. Senators Kenneth D. McKellar, Thomas B. Turley, and Stephen Adams, who succeeded Jefferson Davis in the Senate; E.H. Crump, prominent political leader for decades, along with 21 other mayors of Memphis; and Robert Church, the South's first black millionaire. — Map (db m21334) |
| Tennessee (Shelby County), Memphis — 4E-77 — Elvis Aaron Presley |
| | Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, on January 8, 1935, the son of Vernon and Gladys Presley. He moved to Memphis in 1948. Soon after signing a contract with Sun Records in 1954 he achieved tremendous popularity. His musical and acting career in records, movies, television, and concerts made him one of the most successful and outstanding entertainers in the world. He died on August 16, 1977, and is buried here at his Memphis home, Graceland. — Map (db m9509) |
| Tennessee (Shelby County), Memphis — Graceland |
| | Graceland has been placed on the National Register of Historical Places by the United States Department of the Interior. Built 1939. — Map (db m138) |
| Tennessee (Shelby County), Memphis — 4E 85 — Ida B. Wells 1862–1931 |
| | Ida B. Wells crusaded against lynchings in Memphis and the South. In 1892 while editor of the Memphis Free Speech, located in this vicinity, she wrote of the lynching of three Black businessmen. As a result, her newspaper office was destroyed and her life threatened.
After moving to New York, she began an international speaking tour where she influenced the establishment of the British Anti-Lynching Society. She cofounded the NAACP in America and organized the first Black womens . . . — Map (db m9306) |
| Tennessee (Shelby County), Memphis — 4E 63 — Memphis Martyrs |
| | In August, 1878, fear of death caused a panic during which 30,000 of 50,000 Memphians fled this bluff city. By October, the epidemic of yellow fever killed 4,204 of 6,000 Caucasians and 946 of 14,000 Negros who stayed. With some outside help, citizens of all races and walks of life, recognizing their common plight in this devastated, bankrupt community, tended 17,600 sick and buried the dead. As a result many of them lost their lives, becoming martyrs in their service to mankind. — Map (db m7583) |
| Tennessee (Shelby County), Memphis — 4E 104 — Nat D. Williams |
| | In 1948, Nat D. Williams became the first black radio announcer in Memphis when he began broadcasting for WDIA. He was a cofounder of the Cotton Makers Jubilee and is credited with giving the celebration its name. A history teacher in the Memphis City schools, Williams was best known for Amateur Night on Beale Street, which he began in 1935 at the Old Palace Theater. Williams was also a columnist for the Memphis World. — Map (db m13748) |
| Tennessee (Shelby County), Memphis — 4E 83 — Pee Wee Saloon (P. Wee Saloon) |
| | Pee Wee's Saloon was the favorite meeting spot for Memphis musicians in the early 20th century. W.C. Handy used the cigar counter to write out copies of the Beale Street Blues for his band members. One of those songs, written for the 1909 political campaign was first named "Mr. Crump," for the Memphis mayor and political boss. Later with new lyrics it became famous as "The Memphis Blues." — Map (db m9302) |
| Tennessee (Shelby County), Memphis — 4E 119 — Rufus Thomas, Jr. |
| | (Obverse)
Born March 26, 1917, in Cayce, Mississippi, this legendary entertainer known worldwide, began his career in the 1930s with the Rabbit Foot Minstrel Shows. He was the organizer and master of ceremonies of the amateur shows in the 1940s and 1950s at the Palace Theatre, which stood at this site. From these shows began the careers of many great performers, including B.B. King and Bobby "Blue" Bland.
(Reverse)
He had the first hit records for both the Sun and Stax . . . — Map (db m9303) |
| Tennessee (Shelby County), Memphis — Schools For Freedmen |
| | The first free "colored" school in the city was opened in early 1863 in a barrack building in South Memphis. In 1864 the U.S. Army issued a general order authorizing its officers to hep with these schools for the education of freedmen. In 1865 there were 9 schools here. All were burned during the May 1866 race riot. In 1868-69 there were again 9 schools in operation in various locations in the city. One of these schools was located in this area. — Map (db m9301) |
| Tennessee (Shelby County), Memphis — Sun Records |
| | In th early 1950's Sun Records was a small recording studio located here at 706 Union. Owned and operated by Sam C. Phillips, Sun Records became nationally know for giving many local area artist, both black and white, their start in the recording industry. These included Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Charlie Rich, B.B. King, Rufus Thomas, Howlin' Wolf and others. — Map (db m17515) |
| Tennessee (Shelby County), Memphis — 4E 84 — The First Railroad in West Tennessee The LaGrange and Memphis Railroad |
| | Organized in 1835, the LaGrange and Memphis Railroad operated the first train from Memphis 4 1/2 miles on March 29, 1842, on the present roadbed of the Southern Railway. The depot which was destroyed by fire February 1, 1853 was located here. The LaGrange and Memphis Railroad and the depot were acquired by the Memphis and Charleston Railroad about 1846. The Southern Railway succeeded the Memphis and Charleston. — Map (db m8125) |
| Tennessee (Shelby County), Memphis — 4R-95 — The Lorraine Motel |
| | Originally the Windsor Hotel (c. 1925) and later one of the only few hotels for blacks, it hosted such entertainers as Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, Count Basie, B.B. King, and Nat King Cole. Walter and Loree Bailey bought it in 1942, renaming it the Lorraine. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated outside Room 306 on April 4, 1968, making it a symbol for the civil rights movement. In 1982, a local nonprofit group saved the site from foreclosure for use as Americas first civil rights museum. — Map (db m3233) |
| Tennessee (Shelby County), Memphis — The Memphis Home of W.C. Handy |
| | Musician Composer Publisher. 1873–1958. Father of the Blues. In this house was born Memphis Blues, St. Louis Blues, Beale Street Blues and other great songs. This house was moved here from 659 Janette Street in 1983 and restored by the Blues Foundation. — Map (db m3240) |
| Tennessee (Shelby County), Memphis — Tom Lee Memorial A very worthy Negro |
| | Tom Lee with his boat “Zev” saved thirty-two lives when the steamer U.S. Norman sank about twenty miles below Memphis May 8, 1925. But he has a finer monument than this—an invisible one. A monument of kindliness, generosity, courage and bigness of heart. His good deeds were scattered everywhere that day and into eternity.
This monument erected by the grateful people of Memphis.
Watkins Overton
E. H. Crump, Chm.
John Heiskell
E. W. Hale
John Vesey
Abe . . . — Map (db m4947) |
| Tennessee (Shelby County), Memphis — Tom Lee Monument |
| | Late afternoon of May 25, 1925, Tom Lee (1886-1952) steered his 28' skiff Zev upriver after delivering an official to Helena.
Also on the river was a steamboat, the M. E. Norman, carrying members of the Engineers Club of Memphis, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and their families.
Lee witnessed the Norman capsize in the swift current 15 miles downriver from Memphis at Cow Island Bend. Although he could not swim, he rescued 32 people with five trips to . . . — Map (db m13056) |
| Tennessee (Shelby County), Memphis — 4E 135 — WLOK Radio Station |
| | In 1977 WLOK became Memphis' first African-American owned radio station. Established on this site, Gilliam Communications' WLOK is a family-oriented format on which many of the nation's top African-American leaders have appeared. Several of the nation's leading disc jockeys starred here. WLOK's community involvement includes college scholarships and the renowned WLOK Stone Soul Picnic. The station's call letters, WLOK-AM, are "A Family Tradition." — Map (db m13819) |
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