Whitehaven, Memphis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Whitehaven, Tennessee |
|
| Country State County |
United States Tennessee Shelby |
|---|---|
| City | 1950's |
| Mayor | W.W. Herenton |
| Area | |
| - City | km² (18.0 sq mi) |
| Population | |
| - City (2000) | Aprox. 50,000 |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Website: http://www.memphismemphis.com/whitehav.htm | |
Whitehaven is an African-American neighborhood on the southwest side of Memphis,Tennessee, first organized in the late 19th century. Its current population is about 50,000. Today's Zip Code is 38116, with a land area of about 18 square miles.
Contents |
[edit] History
Originally a farm community, it was developed as a residential suburb of Memphis in the 1950s and 1960s. It is located in Shelby County and is roughly bounded by Brooks Road on the north and the Mississippi state line on the south, with Neely Road on the west and Airways Blvd. on the east.
The major traffic artery of the community is Highway 51, later known as Elvis Presley Boulevard. This roadway began as a toll "Plank Road" built between Memphis and Hernando, Mississippi, in 1852.
Three high schools are in the area: Whitehaven High School, Hillcrest High School, and Fairley School. Whitehaven High School was opened by 1911 and was the only high school in the community until Hillcrest opened in 1962.
Much of the later residential and commercial development was done by Carrington Jones and Lacy Mosby in the mid 20th century to provide housing for "baby boom" families who moved from Memphis to a pleasant environment in the old community. This gradually transformed plantation tracts to neighborhoods in the late 40s and 50s.
Elvis Presley bought his famous home, Graceland, in 1957; very soon afterward the farmland surrounding the estate was subdivided into homesites. For the next decade there was rapid development, with Whitehaven Plaza shopping center becoming the area's commercial center.
One of the first enclosed shopping malls in the country opened near Shelby Drive and Elvis Presley Blvd in 1966. Southland Mall was a destination for shoppers from all over the region, and the area prospered.
Whitehaven's major tourist attractions are still Graceland mansion and the annual Elvis Week, attracting many thousands there annually to remember "The King" on the anniversary of his death on August 16, 1977. During the two decades he lived in Whitehaven, Elvis spent as much time as possible at his home and was a beloved "neighbor" to residents there.
Most of the political history of the area is as an unincorporated community. However, in 1970 the city of Memphis annexed Whitehaven, instituting major changes. Integration of the City schools, the rise of the black middle class, and the "flight" of white citizens to northern Mississippi and the eastern suburbs of Memphis during the 1970s and 1980s changed Whitehaven to an area largely populated by black citizens.
The community takes its name from a Colonel Francis White who was an early settler and major property owner. White was influential in getting a rail line to come through what was first called White's Station, later White Haven and then Whitehaven. (In East Memphis, there is another community historically called White's Station, along the Memphis & Charleston -- now Norfolk Southern -- Railroad. Currently, it is called White Station.) This "Tennessee and Mississippi Railroad" was chartered in 1853, and the first trains ran in 1856. The first "White Haven" post office was opened in 1871. The roads and train tracks connected the cotton farms of the delta to Memphis markets, establishing strong commercial links.
Some of the other founding family names are Raines, Hale, McCorkle, and Harbin. E. W. Hale moved to the area in the 1880s and opened a store near what is now Whitehaven High School on Highway 51. Hale's Store was a landmark for many decades.
In 1926, WREC radio began operations there, and in 1928 Whitehaven's Hoyt B. Wooten was one of the first six television licensees in America.
[edit] Geography
Whitehaven is located on the southern part of Memphis, Tennessee.
Annual precipitation: 50 inches, well distributed throughout the year. March is wettest month while October is driest.
Annual snowfall: 5.2 inches per year
Average Temperatures: January 42 F July 81F
[edit] Education
[edit] Public Secondary Schools
- Whitehaven High School
- Hillcrest High School
- Fairley High School
[edit] Private Schools
- Bishop Byrne
- St. Paul
[edit] Other facts
- The city of Southaven, Mississippi was originally named South Whitehaven after this city, but the name was later changed, as the city was not part of Tennessee.
