North Memphis is one of the five defined districts of

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 ...

. It includes smaller neighborhoods such as Klondike, New Chicago, Douglass,

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

, Nutbush, Binghampton, Smokey City, Scutterfeld, Frayser, and

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

History

North Memphis flourished during the 19th and 20th centuries. Klondike and Smokey City are two of the oldest African American elite communities in Memphis. Historic neighborhoods like Speedway Terrace, Vollintine-Evergreen, and Shelby Forest were home to wealthy families and a vibrant manufacturing industry. In 1887, Memphis Artesian Water Company in North Memphis began digging artesian wells to create a modern sewer system. The facility was eventually torn down to expand parking for

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is a pediatric treatment and research facility located in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1962, it is a 501(c)(3) designated nonprofit medical corporation which focuses on children's catastrophic diseases, pa ...

Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is a tire company founded by Harvey Firestone (1868–1938) in 1900 initially to supply solid rubber side-wire tires for fire apparatus, and later, pneumatic tires for wagons, buggies, and other forms of wheeled ...

in New Chicago, Memphis made its first tire on January 19, 1937. In 1942, in Frayser on 260 acres of land,

International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated by IHC, IH, or simply International ( colloq.)) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household e ...

built the largest farm-equipment manufacturing plant in the South. By the end of the 20th century, the industrial hub in North Memphis steadily declined as manufacturing jobs disappeared due to

deindustrialization Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry. There are different interpre ...

. Companies that closed their operations include Firestone, International Harvester, Cleo,

Schering-Plough Schering-Plough Corporation was an American pharmaceutical company. It was originally the U.S. subsidiary of the German company Schering AG, which was founded in 1851 by Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering. As a result of nationalization, it becam ...

Maybelline Maybelline New York (formerly The Maybelline Company and Mabelline and Co.), trading as Maybelline ( ), is an American multinational cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care company, based in New York City. It was founded in Chicago ...

Velsicol Chemical Corporation Velsicol Chemical Corporation is an American chemical company based in Rosemont, Illinois that specializes in reaction intermediate#Chemical processing industry, chemical intermediates for applications such as agrochemicals. It was founded in 19 ...

Kimberly-Clark Kimberly-Clark Corporation is an American multinational personal care corporation that produces mostly paper-based consumer products. The company manufactures sanitary paper products and surgical & medical instruments. Kimberly-Clark brand n ...

and

Chemtura Chemtura Corporation was a global corporation headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with its other principal executive office in Middlebury, Connecticut. Merged into Lanxess in 2017, the company focused on specialty chemicals for various i ...

. The companies still operating were chemical plants known for heavy pollution. The Douglass community still had eight polluting facilities.Toxic Shock
/ref>

Music

North Memphis produced musicians like Laura Dukes,

Gary Harrison Gary Steven Harrison is an American songwriter. Harrison began his career in the 1970s, and has written over 300 major-label recorded songs, including several number one hits. His songwriting credits include: " Hey Cinderella" (recorded by Suzy ...

Greg Cartwright Greg Cartwright, also known by his stage name Greg Oblivian (born March 18, 1972), is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Memphis, Tennessee. From 2001 to 2022 he fronted Reigning Sound which was signed to Merge Records. After m ...

and

rappers Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

Project Pat Patrick Earl Houston (born February 8, 1973), better known by his stage name Project Pat, is an American rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He is the older brother of Juicy J, the co-founder of Three 6 Mafia. Houston was formerly a member of hip h ...

Juicy J Jordan Michael Houston III (born April 5, 1975), known professionally as Juicy J, is an American rapper and record producer. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, he is a founding member of the Southern hip hop group Three 6 Mafia, established i ...

Yo Gotti Mario Sentell Giden Mims (born May 19, 1981), known professionally as Yo Gotti, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record executive. In 1996, Gotti released his debut album ''Youngsta's On a Come Up'' under the alias Lil Yo. He went on to re ...

Snootie Wild LePreston Porter III (April 23, 1985 – February 26, 2022), better known by his stage name Snootie Wild, was an American rapper and singer. He was best known for his first single, " Yayo", which success helped launch his career. The song charted ...

, Ceo D.We$t,

Frayser Boy Cedric Coleman, professionally known by his stage name Frayser Boy, is an American rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He was formerly signed to Hypnotize Minds, the record label run by Three 6 Mafia founders DJ Paul and Juicy J, and had released t ...

Lil Wyte Patrick Dhane Lanshaw (born October 6, 1982), better known by his stage name Lil Wyte, is an American rapper. He is a member of the rap collective Hypnotize Minds and owner of the independent label Wyte Music. Early life Growing up in Frayse ...

, and C-Mo. File:Nutbush Memphis TN 14 National Cemetery from Jackson Ave bridge.jpg,

Memphis National Cemetery 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 * Memphis ...

File:Speedway Terrace Memphis TN 02 Faxon Ave sign.jpg, Speedway Terrace File:Firestone Park Frayser Memphis TN 02 from N Watkins St.jpg, Firestone Park in Frayser File:New Chicago Memphis 007.jpg, New Chicago File:Vollintine Evergreen Memphis TN 02 Faxon Ave sign.jpg, Vollintine Evergreen File:Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park Shelby County TN 2013-06-02 004.jpg, Shelby Forest

References

{{coord, 35.216, -89.924, display=title Geography of Memphis, Tennessee African-American history in Memphis, Tennessee