Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto crossed the Mississippi close to the site of Memphis in 1541. Although England claimed the area later in that century it was the French who built the first settlement. In around 1682 they built Fort Prudhomme on the Mississippi bluffs somewhere near the site of Memphis and in 1739 they built Fort Assumption where Memphis now stands. Britain took control of the area in 1763 after the French and Indian War with the treaty giving ownership of the land to the Chickasaw Indians. After Tennessee gained statehood in 1796 settlers moved in and in 1818 the Chickasaw gave up the unequal fight and sold the land to the US. Memphis was founded in 1819 by General Andrew Jackson, General James Winchester and Judge John Overton. Many of the early residents were from a German or Irish background. Memphis is now the biggest city in Tennessee with a population of around 650,000.
The Mississippi at Memphis
Memphis was named after the ancient capital of Egypt and it quickly had a profound effect on Tennessee transport links. No longer necessary was the 765 kilometre (475 mile) overland journey along the Natchez Trace, instead travellers could take a riverboat direct to Memphis. The city grew fast and became a major hub for the cotton and slave markets. The Civil War saw loyalties split with merchants who traded with the north favouring the Union cause while plantation owners supported secession. When the state opted to secede, Memphis initially became a supply base for the Confederacy. In 1862 the city fell to Union forces and it became headquarters for General Ulysses S. Grant. Memphis remains a major transport hub not just for river traffic but it also has the largest airfreight terminal in the world.
Memphis
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Elvis Presley's Pink Cadillac, Graceland
Elvis Presley’s house may be a little smaller than expected but his cars definitely are not. When Presley sang ‘You may have a Pink Cadillac’ in his 1955 recording ‘Baby Let's Play House’ he was referring to the Cadillac that he bought earlier that year which had been re-sprayed pink. Soon afterwards the car was destroyed by fire. He then purchased a new blue Cadillac Fleetwood Series 60, had it re-sprayed pink and gave it to his mother Gladys. Since Gladys didn’t drive it wasn’t a lot of use to her so Elvis and his band used it. The original car is on permanent display at the Graceland Automobile Museum.
Beale Street
Blues music originated in the late 19th century amongst African-American communities in the Deep South. Beale Avenue in Memphis dates back to 1841 and by the early 20th century it had become an entertainment area full of clubs, restaurants and shops, many African-American owned. In 1916 Beale Avenue became Beale Street after a song called the Beale Street Blues. In the 1920s and 1930s Beale Street was the home of a new style of blues music called the Memphis blues. Many great jazz and blues legends played in the venues along the street. A young Elvis Presley frequented Beale Street, leading to claims that it was the birthplace of Rock & Roll.
Graceland
”Ooh, isn’t it small” is the first thought of many visitors to Graceland before they are taken through the living rooms showing Elvis Presley’s rather unusual taste in decor. After the tour through some of the house we were guided through a museum with a commentary so sugary that it should carry a government health warning. We didn’t hear much about the problems of his later life or the circumstances of his death but we felt that we knew a little more about the man. If you want the ‘warts and all’ story of Elvis go to his birthplace in Tupelo to counterbalance the ‘Rose Tinted Spectacles’ version at Graceland. To save having to make a trip to the cemetery, the graves of Elvis and his immediate family are in the garden close to the end of the tour. Click Tab 2 for a picture of the Presley graves
Statue of Elvis Presley, Elvis Presley Plaza
While Beale Street may be exaggerating when it claims to be the birthplace of Rock & Roll, there can be no doubt about the major role that Memphis played in the development of the genre. To honour of his role in the development of Rock & Roll, a 2.9 metre (nine and a half foot) high statue depicting Elvis Presley in action stands at the end of Beale Street.
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© Mike Elsden 1981 - 2025
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