Source: page 797, History of Tennessee: Shelby County (Goodspeed, 1887)
"SHELBY COUNTY is situated in the southwest corner of the State of Tennessee. It is bounded on the north by Tipton County, on the east by Fayette County, on the south by the State of Mississippi and on the west by the Mississippi River. In area it contains about 700 square miles. Generally speaking the surface is either level or gently undulating, and the soil is extremely fertile. Outside of the bottoms, at the lowest points the La Grange sands outcrop. This is a stratified mass of sand mostly argillaceous and quite variable in color. Their thickness is not known, and in them occur veins of lignite, as at Raleigh. The Orange sandstone also appears at the slopes at the bluff, and at the surface in the eastern part of the county. Above all lies what is known as the Bluff deposit or loess loam. This is a stratum of fine siliceous loam, and is usually of a light ashen, yellow or buff color. In thickness it varies from a few feet to about 100 feet. Memphis is built on this deposit. The loess deposits are famous the world over for their excellence as a subsoil, on account of their porosity and fertility, by which crops growing above them are enabled to survive long periods of drought better than those growing above most other kinds of subsoil. Above all is a rich alluvial deposit or vegetable mold, furnishing abundant material for the sustenance of crops, and is as rich as is anywhere to be found. The surface of the county is interspersed with a few creeks and small rivers, and the upland back from these creeks and rivers frequently rests upon a bed of reddish fire brick clay. The water courses are as follows: Wolf River, Loosahatchie River, Big Creek, Nonconnah Creek and Bayou Gayoso. There are two sets of mineral springs, one of Raleigh, the other at Nashoba, both containing sulphur and iron; but neither has as yet become famous as a health or summer resort. For convenience of reference the bluffs may be here enumerated: The first Chickasaw bluff is at Fulton in Lauderdale County, the second at Randolph in Tipton County, the third at Old River, and the fourth or lowest at Memphis. It is generally believed and it is probably true that it was from this bluff that De Soto crossed the Mississippi River, instead of at Randolph, as is suggested by Killebrew."
[ Go to Communities - Past & Present ]
[ Browse Shelby County Maps section ]
