Page Contents for Memphis, Tennessee

Statistics & Facts

Location

History & History-related items

City Attractions

Government

Chamber of Commerce.

Organizations, Churches, and Sports.

Libraries.

Schools.

Miscellany

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Statistics & Facts

The Tennessee state capital is Nashville.
The population of Memphis is approximately 650,100 (2000), 646889 (2010).
The approximate number of families is 248,573 (1990), 250344 (2010).
The amount of land area in Memphis is 663.154 sq. kilometers.
The amount of land area in Memphis is 296.35 sq. miles.
The amount of surface water is 39.18 sq kilometers.
The distance from Memphis to Washington DC is 782 miles.
The distance to the Tennessee state capital is 196 miles. (as the crow flies)
Memphis is positioned 35.10 degrees north of the equator and 90.00 degrees west of the prime meridian.
Memphis elevation is 331 (average) feet above sea level.
The Memphis city flower is the Crape myrtle.
The city tree is the Dogwood.
Memphis average annual rainfall is 48.6 inches per year
Memphis average annual precipitation is 49 inches peryear.
Memphis average annual snowfall is 5.3 inches per year.
Memphis average temperature is 61.9 degrees F.
The average low temperature is 42.2 degrees F.
The average high temperature is 81.2 degrees F.

Location

in southwestern Tennessee, near the Mississippi River.
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Weather

moderate. the average relative humidity in Memphis: 69%
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History & History Related Items

Though inhabited for hundreds of year, the area was not truly settled until the Chickasaw relinquished their lands in 1818. General/President Andrew Jackson, General James Winchester and Judge John Overton were considered the "founders" of Memphis. The city was surveyed and designed in 1819. At the time Memphis was only four blocks wide and had a population of around fifty people. Marcus Winchester, the General's son, was made the first mayor. (This excerpt is just a small part of the historical information located on this history page from the city of Memphis.)

Here is a timeline for the city's history.
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The founding of Memphis

1819

The incorporation of Memphis

1826

Attractions

For attractions in Memphis, go to the Attractions page.
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Memphis City Government

City of Memphis
125 N Main St
Memphis, TN 38103
Phone: 901-576-6000
Fax: 901-576-6023

Memphis has a Mayor/City Council form of government (est. 1966)

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Tennessee Governors Office
170 N Main St
Memphis, TN 38103-1877
Phone: 901-543-7480

Memphis Chamber

Memphis Regional Chamber Of Commerce
22 N Front St #200
Memphis, TN 38103
Phone: 901-543-3500
Fax: 901-543-3510

Memphis Organizations

Memphis Regional Chamber Of Commerce
22 N Front St #200
Memphis, TN 38103
Phone: 901-543-3500
Fax: 901-543-3510

Memphis Libraries

Memphis Public Library
531 Vance Ave.
Memphis, TN 38126-2116
Phone: 901-525-1643

Memphis Schools

Board Of Education Administrative Offices
160 S Hollywood St.
Memphis, TN 38112-4801 Phone: 901-325-7640

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Briarcrest Christian School
6000 Briarcrest Ave
Memphis, TN 38120-4109
Phone: 901-765-4600

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Shelby County Board-Education
160 S Hollywood St.
Memphis, TN 38112-4801
Phone: 901-325-7900

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Memphis

Miscellany

The population of Memphis was:
1820 - 364
1830 - 663
1840 - 1,799
1850 - 8,841
1860 - 22,623
1870 - 40,226
1880 - 33,592
1890 - 64,495
1900 - 102,320
1910 - 131,105
1920 - 162,351
1930 - 253,140
1940 - 292,942
1950 - 396,000
1960 - 497,524
1970 - 623,530
1980 - 646,356
1990 - 610,337
2000 - 650,100
Information is from the 1990 and 2000 US Census data and from the Memphis Shelby County Public Library. Memphis is in the Central Standard time zone.

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Here are some interesting facts about Memphis:

The only five-time winner of the nation's cleanest city award.
Memphis has the world's largest artesian well water system
Volney, the lion who roared at the beginning of all the old MGM movies, lived at the Memphis Zoo until his death in 1944
The Memphis Musician's Union, founded in 1873, is the oldest musicians union in the country.

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Memphis is home to: The first Greyhound and Continental Trailways bus lines
FedEx, the world's largest overnight package delivery company
The first Welcome Wagon, founded here in 1928
Cleo Wrap, the world's largest manufacturer of Christmas wrapping paper

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Memphis is the hardwood capital of the world

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Some of Memphis' celebrities include: Kathy Bates, Cybill Shepherd, Michael Jeter, Tim McCarver, Dixie Carter, Rick Dees, Wink Martindale, Peter Taylor, Morgan Freeman, George Hamilton, Aretha Franklin, Pat Kerr, Dana Buchman and Shelby Foote.

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Memphis has one of the top urban park systems in the nation covering 7,000 acres

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The Memphis Zoo was founded in 1905 when Natch, a black bear mascot for a Memphis baseball team, was kept chained to a tree in Overton Park.

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The Memphis Belle, a B-17 bomber, became the first B-17 to complete 25 missions over Europe and return to the U.S. under its own power. It was the subject of the feature film, Memphis Belle.

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Memphis is the pork barbecue capital of the world.