Church Park

Church Park is a Tennessee historical marker in in Market Sq., Shelby County.

Shelby Co, Memphis, in Market Sq.

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At this location Church Park and Auditorium was established in 1899 by Robert R. Church Sr., a Memphis business man and former slave, to provide recreational facilities for members of his race who had no other place to meet. Many famous Americans, including Booker T. Washington and Theodore Roosevelt spoke here. After the death of its founder, who had become the first Negro millionaire in the South, the park and auditorium was managed by his son, Robert Church, Jr., who, at this site organized the Lincoln League and the Memphis Chapter N.A.A.C.P., the first chapter in Tennessee.

TodayHistorical map

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David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1886 · Arkansas. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1901 · Memphis. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1903 · Arkansas. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1916 · Memphis, Tennessee (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)
1925 · Memphis, Tennessee (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)

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Marker text and location from the Tennessee Historical Commission, as the Commission publishes them on its marker map.

More markers nearby

On the National Register nearby

Tri-State Bank260 ft
First Baptist Church280 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.