Downtown Memphis was a tranquil place in 1927. This old postcard view shows the town square, dominated by the main business in town, the Auto Body Glass & Top Shop. Surely you remember it.
Shoppers could also stop by R.H. Wherry Jewelry, the Baldwin & Wherry Variety Store, and Piggly Wiggly, which reminded customers they were "All Over the World."
During their visit downtown, folks could also grab a hamburger and get their hair cut, or — as the two fellows in the foreground are doing — take a seat on the courthouse steps and watch the cars and trucks rumble by.
Yep, a big day in downtown Memphis. Life was good.
And if residents of the Bluff City are wondering: what's going on here, Vance? This doesn't look like downtown Memphis at all — well, all I can say is this is indeed downtown Memphis.
But it's the one in Texas, not Tennessee.
Located about 100 miles southeast of Amarillo, and surrounded by communities with wonderful names like Turkey, Goodnight, Cee Vee, Claude, Quail, and — my favorite, Floydada — the Texas version of our city didn't quite grow as fast, or as large, as the one on the Mississippi River. According to the latest census, the current population is a bit over 2,200.
Wikipedia claims the Texas town got its name from the postmaster. Established in 1890, for a long time, it seems, the community had no name whatsoever. One day the postman (how did they receive mail without a city name, I wonder??) noticed a letter addressed to "Memphis, Tennessee" and someone had scribbled on it, "No such town in Texas." So right then and there he decided there would be such a town, and the town's name was Memphis.
I don't know if that story is true. It's Wikipedia. You decide.
There are other places called Memphis in the United States, including towns in Missouri and Nebraska, and probably other states as well, but I don't feel like telling you about them right now. Maybe later.
