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The City Of Memphis . Com thecityofmemphis.us
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| Memphis Tennessee, seat of Shelby County, is in southwestern Tennessee. The largest city in the state, Memphis is located on the Chickasaw Bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers. Memphis covers an area of 662.8 sq km (255.9 sq mi). Located on the Mississippi River, Memphis is intersected by two Interstate highways and seven major U.S. highways. Memphis has a busy river port and many railroad connections also. Due to its location, more major metro areas can be reached overnight from Memphis than any other city in the central U.S making it a major transportation hub. It is linked to West Memphis, Arkansas, by two bridges across the Mississippi River. Memphis International Airport houses the corporate headquarters of overnight shipping company FedEx. |
| The Memphis area was first settled by the Mississippian Culture and then by the Chickasaw indian tribe. European exploration came years later, with Spanish explorer, Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River near the site of present-day Memphis in 1541. By the 1680s, French explorers led by René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle built Fort Prudhomme in the vicinity, the first European settlement in what would become Memphis, predating English settlements in East Tennessee by more than 70 years. |
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| The city was at the center of civil rights issues during the 1960's, notably as the location of a sanitation workers' strike. Memphis is also known as the place where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968 at the Lorraine Motel. (http://www.jofreeman.com/photos/Kingfuneral.html) | ![]() Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (http://www.jofreeman.com/photos/Kingfuneral.html) |

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