Whitehaven, Memphis, Tennessee
| Whitehaven, Memphis | |
|---|---|
|
Country State County |
United States Tennessee Shelby |
| City | 1950s |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Jim Strickland |
| Area | |
| • Total | 47 km2 (18.0 sq mi) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 50,000 |
| • Density | 331.2/km2 (857.9/sq mi) |
| approx. | |
| Time zone | CST (UTC−6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC−5) |
| Website | Official Website |
Whitehaven is a predominantly African-American community in Memphis, Tennessee, first organized in the late 19th century as a neighborhood for upper-class families. Its current population is about 50,000.
Whitehaven is the largest neighborhood in South Memphis and is roughly bounded by Winchester Road on the north and the Mississippi state line on the south, with the Illinois Central Railroad on the west and Airways Boulevard on the east.
The major traffic artery of the community is U.S. Route 51, later known as Elvis Presley Boulevard. This roadway began as a toll "Plank Road" built between Memphis and Hernando, Mississippi in 1852.
Whitehaven is no longer its own city, but a part of Memphis.
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 run through what was first called White's Station, later Whitehaven. This Mississippi and Tennessee 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 Mississippi 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 Elvis Presley Blvd. Hale's Store was a landmark for many decades.
In 1926, WREC radio began operations there, and in 1928 Whitehaven Hoyt B. Wooten was one of the first six television licensees in America. His original home is the centerpiece of a private development called Lion's Gate.
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 1940s and 1950s.
Originally a farm community, Whitehaven was developed as a residential suburb of Memphis in the 1950s and early 1960s. In 1950 Whitehaven had a population of 1,311. In 1960 Whitehaven had a population of 13,894.
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Wikipedia