Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Memphis (Tennessee)

MEMPHIS, a city and county-seat of Shelby co., Tenn.; on the Mississippi river and many important railroads. It contains a custom house, cotton exchange, merchants' exchange, the Cossitt Public Library, University School, Christian Brothers' College, the Memphis Hospital Medical College, St, Mary's School, Memphis Institute, Leath High School, Higbee School, the Le Moyne School, and the Hannibal Medical College. There are electric street railroads, gas and electric lights, waterworks, a steel railroad bridge across the Mississippi, built at a cost of $3,000,000, and opened in 1892, several ferries. National, State, and savings banks, and many daily, weekly, and other periodicals. The city is one of the largest trade centers for cotton in the United States. The total value of the receipts of cotton in 1919 was $77,509,347, and the value of the export of cotton and cotton-seed products was $42,000,000. It has also large manufacturing interests, including cotton-seed oil, flour, grist, and planing mills, foundries and machine shops, carriage and wagon works, brick and tile plants, tobacco factories, etc. The assessed value of real estate in 1919 was $96,921,590, of personal property $13,195,297. The tax rate was $17.50 per $1,000. The cost of maintaining the government was $4,211,617. There were 22,261 pupils in the public schools, and the expenditures for education were $738,960. In 1862 a naval battle was fought here, resulting in victory for the Union vessels, and the city was occupied by the National authorities till the close of the war. Pop. (1910) 131,105; (1920) 162,351.