Memphis is the largest city in the United States state of Tennessee. Shelby County has Memphis as its county seat. On the Mississippi River, adjacent to the borders of Arkansas and Mississippi, Memphis is located in the southwest corner of Tennessee. Chickasaw Indians were the first settlers of Memphis. On the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, they had a village named Chisca. It is said that in fifteen hundred and forty one, Hernando de Soto, had his first glimpse of the Mississippi from the site of Memphis. Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette, in the next century, stopped there to trade with the Indians. In sixteen hundred and eighty two, the French explorer Robert Cavelier Sieur de La Salle, tried to claim the area for France. He built Fort Prudhomme on the site. Chickasaw Indians ceded the area to the United States in eighteen hundred and eighteen. The credit of officially establishing Memphis goes to three enterprising businessmen from Nashville – James Winchester, John Overton and Andrew Jackson, who was to be the future president. Because of the location of Memphis on the Nile like Mississippi River, Jackson named it after the ancient Egyptian city. In eighteen hundred and twenty six, Memphis was incorporated as a city. It went on to become an important Mississippi River port.
Memphis, Tennessee
A large number of tourists come to Memphis enticed by its many attractions. Many bus companies operate in Memphis catering to this segment. They offer services of charter bus, coach bus, limo bus, party bus etc. to the customers. They are all well known for the high quality service they offer. The prices of these services come at an affordable range is a noteworthy point.
Memphis was a Confederate military center during Civil War. Federal forces won a gunboat battle on the river at Memphis in eighteen hundred and sixty two. Subsequently General Sherman was able to take the city. During the eighteen hundred and seventies, after the war, population of Memphis was devastated by several yellow fever epidemics. Due to this, the city fell into decline and went bankrupt. Thereby, in eighteen hundred and seventy nine, it lost its charter. However, the city was able to recover economically due to its superior location. In eighteen hundred and ninety three, a new city charter was granted.
Known as “America’s Distribution Center”, Memphis serves the northeast, southeast and southwest regions of the United States. Memphis homes one of the largest inland ports of the United States. It is the national headquarters for the Fed Ex air courier company. Memphis’s largest industries are health care and related activities such as medical education and biomedical research. They bring in more than five billion dollars per year to the local economy.