T.O. Fuller State Park is a state park in the city of

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, USA. It consists of of mostly

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

located in

South Memphis South Memphis, one of the oldest portions of Memphis, Tennessee, is a community stretching from Midtown and Downtown to the Mississippi state line. In its early days, it was primarily an agrarian community. South Memphis has many well-known neighb ...

on Mitchell Road. It is the only state park within the city limits and is suitable for

wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted ...

. The park is named in honor of Dr. Thomas O. Fuller, who spent his life empowering and educating African Americans. The park facilities were originally built for the use of African Americans in the Great Depression by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

(CCC). It was the first state park in the United States east of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

that was open to African Americans. CCC camp number 1464-SP-10, which was composed of African Americans, initiated construction of the park facilities in 1938. During excavation for a proposed swimming pool in 1940, CCC workers unearthed evidence of a prehistoric village. The site has since been developed as

Chucalissa Indian Village The C.H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa is located on and exhibits excavated materials of the Mississippian culture archaeological site known as Chucalissa ( 40 SY 1) which means "abandoned house" in Chickasaw. The site is located adjacent to the T. ...

and includes a village, preserved archeological excavations and the C.H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa.

Facilities

Amenities at T.O. Fuller State Park include sheltered picnic areas, tennis courts, swimming pool, basketball courts, softball field, six miles (10 km) of hiking trails and camping facilities. The park's nature center is open in the summer and features natural history exhibits and programs.

C.H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa

During construction of T.O. Fuller State Park in 1938, the CCC discovered Native American artifacts on the site, now known as Chucalissa. The University of Tennessee initiated archaeological excavations of this Mississippian mound complex in 1940, but this work was interrupted by World War II. Excavations and other work at Chucalissa began once again in 1955. The facility is currently operated by the

University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering, the Center for Ea ...

and serves as a gateway for understanding

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

and the interpretation of Native American history."About Chucalissa"
Accessed August 2009 It was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1994. and

References

External links

T.O. Fuller State Park official website

Chucalissa website, University of Memphis
{{authority control State parks of Tennessee University of Memphis Nature centers in Tennessee Civilian Conservation Corps in Tennessee Parks in Memphis, Tennessee Protected areas of Shelby County, Tennessee Mounds in Tennessee African-American history of Tennessee Protected areas established in 1938 1938 establishments in Tennessee