Memphis is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Hall County,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States. As of the 2010 census, the

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

was 2,290.

History

Memphis, Texas, the county seat of Hall County, is at the junction of U.S. Highway 287, State Highway 256, and Farm to Market Road 1547, in the northeastern part of the county. It started in 1889, when J. C. Montgomery purchased land for a townsite north of Salisbury on the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway. This land had been previously owned by W. H. Robertson, who had a dugout near Parker Creek. Montgomery and Robertson, with Rev. J. W. Brice and T. J. Woods, Jr., of Dallas, formed a townsite company and presented a plat early in January 1890. P. M. Kelly opened a law office. A rooming house (later the Memphis Hotel), a general store, a drugstore, and several residences were soon erected. For a time, the new town was without a name. Several suggestions were submitted to federal postal authorities, but with negative results. Finally, as the story goes, Reverend Brice, while in Austin, happened to see a letter addressed by accident to Memphis, Texas, rather than Tennessee, with the notation "no such town in Texas". The name was submitted and accepted, and a post office was established on September 12, 1890, with Robertson as postmaster. In the meantime, Hall County was being organized. Memphis was engaged in a heated county seat battle with neighboring Salisbury and Lakeview. Memphis won the election with a total of 84 votes. County officers were elected in June, and a school district was subsequently formed. Since Memphis was without a depot and trains did not stop there, certain citizens sought to remedy that situation by smearing the tracks with lye soap. A subsequent agreement was struck between town promoters and railroad officials. In 1891, a depot was built, and businesses were moved on wheels from Salisbury to the new county seat, where a courthouse of homemade bricks was constructed in 1892. Memphis thus enjoyed a boom period. Two saloons, a bank, numerous stores, blacksmith shops, and livery stables attested to its role as a shipping and trading center for area ranchers and farmers. The Missionary Baptist Church was organized in Memphis; its minister Rev. J. L. Pyle began Baptist congregations throughout the county. Telephone service was first installed in 1901. In June 1906, the town was incorporated with a mayor-council form of city government. The Memphis Cotton Oil Mill was established in 1907. Memphis had at one time or another several newspapers, including the ''Hall County Record'' (1889–1893), the ''Hall County Herald'' (1890–1928), the'' Memphis Journal'' (1892–1894), the ''Memphis Times'' (1896), the ''Memphis Leader'' (1897–1899), the ''Hall County News'' (1897–1903), and the ''Memphis News'' (1928–1929). The only newspaper extant in 1986, the ''Memphis Democrat'', was launched in 1908 and went through a succession of owners. By the 1920s, Memphis had a new brick-and-stone courthouse, modern utilities, a cotton compress, three hotels, brick school buildings, and a Carnegie Library. In 1922, the city's Morning Side addition was founded east of the tracks as a residential area for blacks who labored in the cotton fields and mills. In 1935, E. M. Ewen and his wife formed the Hall County Old Settlers' Reunion (later the Hall County Picnic Association). Four years later, they staged a rodeo as part of the annual two-day celebration. Since the Great Depression era, Memphis has continued as a farm supply center. In 1986, the city had a cotton compress, gins, a grain elevator, two banks, eight churches, four public schools, a modern medical complex, two motels, several mercantile stores (including three wholesale houses), and a municipal airport northeast of town. In addition, Memphis is noted for its tree-lined streets, city park, one swimming pool, community center, and 50 blocks of brick paving laid in 1926. Brookhollow Country Club Lake, a private fishing lake with cabin sites, is six miles northeast of the city. Heritage Hall, which occupies the old First National Bank building on the square, contains local history displays and natural science exhibits. The population was 3,332 in 1960 and 3,352 in 1980. Memphis reported 81 businesses in 1984. United States Congressman Jack Hightower comes from Memphis. The route of the annual Cotton Boll Enduro, a 125-mile cross-country motorcycle event held in late October, begins and ends at Memphis. In 1990 Memphis had a population of 2,465. The population was 2,479 in 2000 and 2,290 in 2010. The county was named after Warren D.C. Hall, who served as Secretary of War while Texas was a republic. He was a lawyer from North Carolina before coming to Texas. A timeline of significant events in Memphis' history: 1889: Land was bought along the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway 1890: Townsite platted, yet names were rejected by postal authorities until September of that year
1891: Memphis wins contested election for county seat against towns of Salisbury and Lakeview
1891: Depot built after Memphians kept putting soap on rails to stop trains
1892: Courthouse constructed
1901: Memphis gets telephone service
1906: Town is incorporated
1912: Memphis gets its own Carnegie Library
1923: New courthouse built
1926: 50 blocks of streets are paved with brick

2013 Civil rights case

In September 2013, a federal suit was filed by Laura Dutton, alleging that the cities of Estelline and Memphis, former Officer Jayson Fry and Memphis Police Chief Chris Jolly violated her Fourth Amendment rights against illegal search and seizure when she was arrested November 28, 2012, in Estelline on a felony money-laundering charge, seizing more than $29,000 from her pickup and illegally keeping $1,400 of her cash. The city of Estelline maintained no written records of past searches or seizures, yet traffic fines and forfeitures made up more than 89% of its gross revenues in fiscal year 2012. The cities and the officers denied her claims, but in July 2014, the city of Estelline and Hall County authorities settled with Dutton for $77,500.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all land. Hall County Seat, Texas Panhandle
Hwy 287 and State Hwy 256,
28 miles SE of Clarendon
64 miles SE of Amarillo
29 miles NE of Childress
14 miles NE of Estelline,
Population: 2,290 (2010)

Climate

The Köppen climate classification subtype for Memphis, Texas, is ''BSk'',

semiarid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

, on climate maps.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,048 people, 915 households, and 628 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, 2,479 people, 1,024 households, and 660 families resided in the city. The population density was . The 1,245 housing units averaged 555.1/sq mi (214.6/km). The racial makeup of the city was 71.40% White, 9.08% African American, 0.56% Native American, 0.04% Asian, 17.63% from other races, and 1.29% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 26.02% of the population. Of the 1,024 households, 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.6% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.5% were not families. About 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.03. In the city, the population was distributed as 27.1% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 22.1% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 21.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $23,102, and for a family was $27,367. Males had a median income of $24,620 versus $18,816 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $13,856. About 18.5% of families and 23.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 38.2% of those under age 18 and 15.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government

William McClellan "Mac" Thornberry is the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from the Texas Panhandle. He has served since 1995, when the House seated its first Republican majority in 40 years. Thornberry represents , a Republican stronghold which stretches between the

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

and

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

borders. It winds across the Panhandle into the

South Plains The South Plains is a region in northwest Texas, United States, consisting of 24 counties. Counties The South Plains region includes 24 counties: The northernmost four (Parmer, Castro, Swisher, and Briscoe) also form part of the Texas Panhand ...

, then runs east across the Red River Valley. Covering over , it is the second-largest district geographically in Texas and one of the largest (excluding at-large districts in

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, and

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

) in the country. It is larger in area than 13 states. The principal cities in the district are Amarillo and

Wichita Falls Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita Counties. According to ...

. Kelton Gray Seliger is a Republican member of the

Texas State Senate The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate is made up of 31 members, where eac ...

representing District 31, which stretches from the

Panhandle A salient, panhandle, or bootheel is an elongated protrusion of a geopolitical entity, such as a subnational entity or a sovereign state. While similar to a peninsula in shape, a salient is most often not surrounded by water on three sides. Ins ...

to the Permian Basin. Republican Drew Springer, Jr., a businessman from

Muenster Muenster may refer to: * Münster, Germany * Muenster, Saskatchewan * Muenster, Texas Muenster ( ) is a city in western Cooke County, Texas, Cooke County, Texas, United States, along U.S. Route 82 in Texas, U.S. Route 82. The population was 1,53 ...

in Cooke County, has since January 2013 represented Memphis in the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

Education

Memphis is served by the Memphis Independent School District. Clarendon College – Childress Center is located about 29 miles southeast in Childress, Texas. Clarendon College is a community college located around 28 miles northeast in Clarendon, the seat of Donley County in the Texas Panhandle. The college operates branch campuses in Pampa and Childress. As defined by the

Texas Legislature The Texas State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a p ...

, Hall County is in the service area of Clarendon College.

Media

Radio

* KCTX-AM *

KCTX-FM KCTX-FM (96.1 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Country music format. Licensed to Childress, Texas Childress ( ) (established 1887; incorporated 1890) is a city in and the county seat of Childress County, Texas, United States. Its p ...

* KLSR-FM

Newspaper

* ''The Hall County Herald'' Owner: Blackburn Media Group Inc
Founded: 1890, (previously known as the ''Memphis Democrat'')
Shari Watson is the editor of the ''Hall County Herald''
Mailing address: 617 W. Main, Memphis, TX 79245-3703 * ''The Red River Sun'' Owner: Blackburn Media Group Inc
Founded: July, 2014, (previously the'' Childress Index'')
Ginger Wilson is the editor of the ''Red River Sun''
Mailing address: PO Box 1260, Childress, TX 79201
* ''Clarendon Enterprise'' Owner: Roger A. Estlack
Founded: 1878, (as the ''Clarendon News'')
Roger A. Estlack is the editor of the'' Clarendon Enterpris''e
Mailing address: PO Box 1110, Clarendon, TX 79226-1110
* ''Amarillo Globe-News'' Owner: Morris Communications LLC
Founded: 1909, (as the ''Amarillo Daily News'')
Darci Heiskell is the editor of the ''Amarillo Globe-News''
Mailing address: 900 S. Harrison, Amarillo, TX 79101
Web Site
Amarillo Globe-News: Local News, Politics & Sports in Amarillo, TX
* ''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal'' Owner: Morris Communications LLC
Founded: 1900
James Bennett is the editor of the ''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal''
Mailing address: 710 Ave. J, Lubbock, TX 79401
Web Site
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Local News, Politics & Sports in Lubbock, TX

Television

* 2 KACV PBS
City: Amarillo, Texas
Owner: Amarillo Junior College
Web Site
kacv.org
br /> Station Info: Digital Educational Full-Power * 4 KAMR NBC ID: "KAMR Local 4 News"
City: Amarillo, TX
Owner:

Nexstar Media Group Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is an American publicly traded media company with headquarters in Irving, Texas, Midtown Manhattan, and Chicago. The company is the largest television station owner in the United States, owning 197 television station ...

Web Site
KAMR – MyHighPlains.com
br /> Station Info: Digital Full-Power * 7 KVII ABC ID: "ABC 7 News"
City: Amarillo, TX
Owner:

Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair, Inc., doing business as Sinclair Broadcast Group, is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb o ...

Web Site
Amarillo News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News
br /> Station Info: Digital Full-Power * 10 KFDA CBS ID: "NewsChannel 10"
City: Amarillo, TX
Owner:

Raycom Media Raycom Media, Inc. was an American television broadcasting company based in Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery, Alabama. Raycom owned and/or provided services for 65 television stations and two radio stations across 44 markets in 20 states. Raycom ...

Web Site
Home – KFDA – NewsChannel 10 / Amarillo News, Weather, Sports
br /> Station Info: Digital Full-Power * 14 KCIT FOX ID: "KCIT Fox 14"
City: Amarillo, TX
Owner: Mission Broadcasting (operated by

Web Site
KAMR – MyHighPlains.com
br /> Station Info: Digital full-power

Events

Memphis is home to the Annual Traditional Bowhunters 3D target competition and Annual Country Club Memorial Day Tournament. The 3D competition is a group of targets set up along the plainsman

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...

club course. Bowhunters compete against each other scoring points for accuracy. This competition is held on the first weekend in May. The Country Club holds an annual golf tournament on Memorial Day.

Notable people

Larry Combest Larry Ed Combest (born March 20, 1945) is a retired American Republican politician who represented Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 to 2003. Early life Combest was born in Memphis, Texas, a small town in West Texas and the ...

, U.S. Representative from 1985 to 2003 * Jack English Hightower, Democrat, U.S. Representative from 1975–1985 * Warren D.C. Hall, served as Secretary of War while Texas was a republic * Lou Wills Hildreth, American Southern gospel performer, songwriter, talent agent and television host *

Blues Boy Willie William Daniel McFall (November 28, 1946 – March 2, 2024), known professionally as Blues Boy Willie, was an American electric and soul blues singer, musician, and songwriter. Influenced jointly by his grounding in gospel and Junior Parker's rec ...

, blues singer

Gallery

Image:Memphis highway sign IMG 0670.JPG, 2000 Incorporation sign Image:Mem. street IMG 0672.JPG, Downtown Memphis Image:Les Sims Memorial Park in Memphis, TX IMG 0674.JPG, Les Sims Memorial Park

References

External links

Hall County Memories
{{authority control Cities in Texas Cities in Hall County, Texas County seats in Texas 1889 establishments in Texas