The Mississippi River Museum is a museum located on

Mud Island Mud Island is a small peninsula located in Memphis, Tennessee. It is bordered by the Mississippi River to the west and the Wolf River and Harbor Town to the east. Mud Island River Park is located within the Memphis city limits, 1.2 miles fr ...

, in

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

History

The museum opened in 1982 with the goal of "preserv ngand promot ngthe natural and cultural history of the Lower Mississippi River Valley". In 1990, businessman

Sidney Shlenker Sidney L. Shlenker (August 14, 1936 – April 23, 2003) was an American businessman. His management/ownership of a series of professional sports teams was marked by both success and controversy. Early life Shlenker was born in Monroe, Louisiana. ...

(known locally for managing construction of the

Memphis Pyramid The Memphis Pyramid, formerly known as the Great American Pyramid and the Pyramid Arena, is a building located in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, United States, at the banks of the Mississippi River. Built in 1991 as a 20,142-seat arena, the facili ...

) planned to shut down the museum to make space for new bars and restaurants on the island. The announcement of these plans was met with backlash by the

West Tennessee Historical Society The West Tennessee Historical Society (WTHS) is a nonprofit historical society servicing the twenty-one counties that comprise West Tennessee. Headquartered in Memphis, the society was officially founded in 1935, but traces its roots to a series ...

, which cooperated with the Mud Island Foundation and then-Mayor of Memphis

Richard Hackett Richard Cecil "Dick" Hackett (born July 21, 1949) was mayor of the city of Memphis, Tennessee from 1982 to 1991. He also served as Shelby County (Tennessee) Clerk from 1978 to 1982. At the time that he took office as mayor, he was 33 years old ...

to intervene and save the museum from closure. In July 2018, the museum was temporarily closed for renovations, citing low attendance rates and a need to update outdated exhibits. The museum reopened in May 2019. In August 2019,

vandals The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The ...

broke into the museum, breaking display cases but not stealing or damaging any of the historical artifacts on display.

Displays and exhibits

The museum is divided into 18 galleries, which display more than 5,000 Mississippi River-relevant historical artifacts altogether. Located just outside of the museum is a

scale model A scale model is a physical model which is geometrically similar to an object (known as the prototype). Scale models are generally smaller than large prototypes such as vehicles, buildings, or people; but may be larger than small prototypes ...

of the river. Several items relevant to the Mississippi River's role in the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

are on display, most notably a life-size replica of a

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

City-class ironclad gunboat. The museum is populated by wax sculptures of historical figures linked to the Mississippi River, such as

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

and

Mike Fink Mike Fink (also spelled Miche Phinck)O'Neil, Paul. ''The Old West: The Rivermen''. Time-Life Books, New York. 1975 p. 71 (c. 1770/1780 – c. 1823), called "king of the keelboaters", was a semi-legendary brawler and river boatman who exempli ...

. A documentary on the several perils of traveling and living on the river (such as

boiler explosions A boiler explosion is a catastrophic failure of a boiler. There are two types of boiler explosions. One type is a failure of the pressure parts of the steam and water sides. There can be many different causes, such as failure of the safety valv ...

and

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

) is played at the "Theatre of Horrors". One of the museum's galleries is dedicated to the history of music on the river.

References

{{reflist History museums in Tennessee Maritime museums in Tennessee Military and war museums in Tennessee Music museums in Tennessee Museums in Memphis, Tennessee

History

Displays and exhibits

See also

References