The city of Memphis was founded on May 22, 1819 and was incorporated on Dec. 19, 1826. The Memphis area was originally inhabited by the Chickasaw Indians, one of the mound building tribes. Hernando DeSoto, the Spanish explorer was the first known European to come into the area in 1541. After Tennessee became a state in 1796 the settlers began to take the territory away from the Chickasaws, and in 1818 the Chickasaws gave in and surrendered the land which included the area that would be Memphis. The "founding" of Memphis is attributed to General Andrew Jackson (later President), General James Winchester and Judge John Overton.

During the Civil War, Memphis served as a Confederate supply depot, then later became the headquarters of Ulysses Grant for the Union forces. After the war, a yellow fever epidemic spread through the area, killing a number of the residents and causing many more to leave. A new sewage system, the first of its type in the country, was introduced in the city and the yellow fever was eradicated.

Memphis has always been a city deeply involved with civil rights, and unfortunately, it was in Memphis that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968. The Lorraine Motel where Dr. King was murdered now houses the National Civil Rights Museum.

Memphis is probably best known as the home of Elvis Presley and thousands of people visit Graceland yearly.

The city of Memphis] was founded by President/General, Judge John Overton and General James Winchester in 1819. The land had previously been inhabited by the Chickasaw Indians and though the land legally belonged to them, the new settlers of the Tennessee Territory took the land from them. Part of the land that they took is what includes the area that is now the city of Memphis.

The city was surveyed and designed during that year and the city which had 50 residents at the time, was founded. Marcus Winchester, the son of General James Winchester, was named the city’s first mayor. Memphis was named for a city in ancient Egypt.