The Pinch

The Pinch is a Tennessee historical marker in Shelby County.

Shelby Co, Memphis, northwest corner of Main & Jackson Sts. N. Main Street & Jackson Avenue

Get directions ↗Start a road trip Historical trails

In the mid-1800s this twelve-block area became a stepping stone for European immigrants, and is known as Memphis' first commercial district. The name "Pinch" is traced to Irish settlers who fled the great potato famine. Their "pinch-gut" appearance prompted this slang description which became synonymous with the area. In the 1890s Jewish immigrants settled here, transforming the area to a merchant community. Pinch was home and business center to most of Memphis' Jews until the 1930s.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1835 · Chickasaw Cession, Mississippi (1835) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1901 · Memphis. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1916 · Memphis, Tennessee (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)
1925 · Memphis, Tennessee (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)
1965 · Northwest Memphis, Tennessee (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

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

More markers nearby

Marcus Winchesterunder 1 mi
Isaac Rawlingsunder 1 mi
Bell Tavernunder 1 mi
Market Squareunder 1 mi

On the National Register nearby

Pinch-North Main Commercial District (Boundary Increase)250 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.