Thumper
11-18-2020, 08:07 PM
I have an eBay package that I shipped by FedEx. I just checked the tracking to see how far along it's gotten and wondered why it took a full day to go from Jackson MS to Memphis TN. Then I realized it isn't Memphis TN, it's Memphis TEXAS. I'd never heard of Memphis Texas, so decided to Google it. It sounds like a cool little town with an interesting history. Nothing earth-shattering, just interesting. I did get a couple of chuckles while reading up on Memphis though. The town was established in 1879 and here's how it got it's name:
For a time, the new town was without a name. Several suggestions were submitted to federal postal authorities, but with negative results. Finally, as the story goes, Reverend Brice, while in Austin, happened to see a letter addressed by accident to Memphis, Texas, rather than Tennessee, with the notation "no such town in Texas". The name was submitted and accepted, and a post office was established on September 12, 1890.
But the real kicker is how they gained themselves a spot on the map!
It all started in 1889, when J. C. Montgomery purchased land for a townsite north of Salisbury on the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway. In the meantime, Hall County was being organized. Memphis was engaged in a heated county seat battle with neighboring Salisbury and Lakeview. Memphis won the election with a total of 84 votes. County officers were elected in June, and a school district was subsequently formed. Since Memphis was without a depot and trains did not stop there, certain citizens sought to remedy that situation by smearing the tracks with lye soap. A subsequent agreement was struck between town promoters and railroad officials. In 1891, a depot was built, and businesses were moved on wheels from Salisbury to the new county seat, where a courthouse of homemade bricks was constructed in 1892.
It's also mentioned in the chronology section of the town's establishment:
1891: Depot built after Memphians kept putting soap on rails to stop trains
Now that's called ingenuity! :thumbsup
For a time, the new town was without a name. Several suggestions were submitted to federal postal authorities, but with negative results. Finally, as the story goes, Reverend Brice, while in Austin, happened to see a letter addressed by accident to Memphis, Texas, rather than Tennessee, with the notation "no such town in Texas". The name was submitted and accepted, and a post office was established on September 12, 1890.
But the real kicker is how they gained themselves a spot on the map!
It all started in 1889, when J. C. Montgomery purchased land for a townsite north of Salisbury on the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway. In the meantime, Hall County was being organized. Memphis was engaged in a heated county seat battle with neighboring Salisbury and Lakeview. Memphis won the election with a total of 84 votes. County officers were elected in June, and a school district was subsequently formed. Since Memphis was without a depot and trains did not stop there, certain citizens sought to remedy that situation by smearing the tracks with lye soap. A subsequent agreement was struck between town promoters and railroad officials. In 1891, a depot was built, and businesses were moved on wheels from Salisbury to the new county seat, where a courthouse of homemade bricks was constructed in 1892.
It's also mentioned in the chronology section of the town's establishment:
1891: Depot built after Memphians kept putting soap on rails to stop trains
Now that's called ingenuity! :thumbsup