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 * Mem ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

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

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 List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

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 hospital headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded by entertainer Danny Thomas in 1962, it is a 501(c)(3) designated nonprofit medical corporation which focuses on chi ...

On January 19, 1937, the

Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is an American tire company founded by Harvey S. Firestone (18681938) in 1900 initially to supply solid rubber side-wire tires for fire apparatus, and later, pneumatic tires for wagons, carriages, and other form ...

opened what would become its most productive factory, located in the New Chicago neighborhood of Memphis. In 1942, in Frayser on 260 acres of land,

International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated IH or International) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household equipment, and more. It wa ...

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 interpr ...

. 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 and commonly known as simply Maybelline ( ), is an American multinational cosmetics, skin care, perfume, and personal care company, based in New York City. ...

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 1 ...

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

and

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

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

North Memphis produced musicians like

Laura Dukes Laura Ella Dukes (June 10, 1907 – October 10 or 14, 1992), sometimes credited as Little Laura Dukes, was an American blues singer, dancer, and mandolin, banjo and ukulele player. She performed and recorded in Memphis, Tennessee, from the 19 ...

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 B ...

Greg Cartwright Gregory Johnathon 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 Reco ...

and

rappers Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing b ...

Project Pat Patrick Earl Houston (born February 8, 1973), known professionally as 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 the hip-hop ...

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 ...

Yo Gotti Mario Sentell Giden Mims (born May 19, 1981), known professionally as Yo Gotti, is an American rapper, singer, and record executive. Rooted in Memphis rap, he released five independent albums—''Youngsta's on a Come Up'' (1996), ''From da Dope ...

, Snootie Wild, Ceo D.We$t,

Frayser Boy Cedric Kelvin 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 r ...

Lil Wyte Patrick Dhane Lanshaw (born October 6, 1982), better known by his stage name Lil Wyte, is an American rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. Lanshaw is a member of the rap collective Hypnotize Minds and owner of the independent label Wyte Music. Ea ...

Cities Aviv Wilbert Gavin Mays (born 1989), better known by his stage name Cities Aviv, is an American rapper and record producer from Memphis, Tennessee. He is also the founder of the independent record label Total Works (also known as D.O.T.) Early life ...

and C-Mo.

Gallery

File:Nutbush Memphis TN 14 National Cemetery from Jackson Ave bridge.jpg,

Memphis National Cemetery Memphis National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the Nutbush neighborhood in northeast Memphis, Tennessee. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses , and as of the end of 2007, h ...

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 Populated places in Tennessee established by African Americans