Frayser, Memphis
Encyclopedia
Frayser is a community in North Memphis
, Tennessee
.
In 1818 the territory bounded by the Ohio River on the north, the Tennessee River on the east, and the Mississippi River on the west was purchased from the Indians. Andrew Jackson represented US government at the transaction and the new territory became known as The Jackson Purchase and what is now Tennessee was part of North Carolina.
Much of the land now known as Frayser was given to a Mr. Hendron for his services in the North Carolina State Militia during the Revolutionary War. In 1822, Anderson B. Carr, Dr. Frank Rice and J.C. McLemore purchased 5000 acres (20.2 km²) here.
One of the earliest settlers was a Mr. Cousins, who came from southern England just prior to the Civil War. He established his home in the area and, using slave labor, had many beautiful terraces carved out of the face of the hill behind the old Harvester Plant. Mr. Cousins opened one of the first country stores in the area on the Randolph Road off N. Second St. He also operated a cotton gin on the place.
In 1858 Reverend Davidson, a circuit riding Methodist minister, began a four church circuit through North Shelby County. He legally described his Frayser stop as “Under the giant Oak tree on Point Church Road,” which then was a path through farmland with thousands of Oak trees. Accounts of early services indicate lots of singing, shouting and praying in an interdenominational congregation. The old church cemetery located in the 3900 block of Overton Crossing has gravestones dated 1878.
After several years of meetings outdoors, a small wood chapel was built. Called The Point Chapel, it was located near what is now the southwest corner of the Southwest Tennessee Community College campus.
In 1869, tracks of the Paducah & Memphis Railroad were laid from Memphis to Covington as part of the Chesapeake, Ohio & Southwestern Railroad. In 1873 a reporter described his trip to Covington by rail. He told of “wild looking, heavily timbered country” north of the Wolf River. He added, “there were a few highly cultivated farms with tasteful improvements but, what was usually seen from the train were little clearings as in some wild western country....not a single well worked field of corn or cotton was seen on either side.”
The old C.O. & S tracks, which now go through a deep ravine cut by the I.C.R.R. once climbed a hill at “Gooseneck Bend” so steep that push engines were used to make the grade.
Frayser Station, est. 1877
On Sept. 19, 1877 a Post Office was established on the Paducah & Memphis line. At that time The Point was very sparsely populated with a combination of small farms and summer estates owned by rich Memphians. Dr. J. R. Frayser, a prominent old Memphis physician, was one of many wealthy Memphians who invested in property along the new railroad to the north and built a summer home to use as a haven when fever epidemics struck Memphis. His land was at the intersection of roads leading to Big Creek (Millington Rd.) and Raleigh (Whitney-Dellwood), across from the small railroad depot that become known as Frayser Station.
The arrival of the railroad through The Point brought immigration. An Italian vegetable farmer named Dallosta settled on The Point and began sponsored other farming immigrant families from his home in northern Italy. By 1900, Frayser Station had become a predominantly Italian community.
In 1889, the C.O. & S. railroad line was purchased by the Illinois Central system. At that time the ICRR connected Chicago with Fulton, KY. The ICRR added lines going to New Orleans and changed its name to the I.C. Gulf R.R. For years the passenger train through Frayser was called the Fulton Accommodation.
Frayser Station was not the depot on The Point. A railroad stop two miles (3 km) farther north was named for Squire Ben Felt, a prominent resident who helped form The Point Church, and a third was located at Overton, on the south side of the Loosahatchie River. Another community east of Frayser Station, above the Hindman Ferry, became a futuristic subdivision called Rugby Hills Estates. The area north of Rugby Hills was called Ardmore.
With the automobile came the demise of passenger traffic on the railroad. The railroad depots were closed and over the years the station part of the name was dropped. Today, the entire western tip of what was The Point is simply known as Frayser.
Frayser developed in the mid twentieth century as an industrial, working class suburb due to its proximity to the industrial area of Memphis, including a large International Harvester
plant.
Ethnicity statistics
White: 23.9%
Black: 74.2%
Hispanic: 1.2%
Source: Demographics Now, U.S. Census, 2000
", a number one record for Trisha Yearwood
. It is an autobiographical song about leaving Frayser for Nashville
.
Greg Cartwright
of the Memphis-based bands The Oblivians, The Compulsive Gamblers
and his current group, Reigning Sound
was born and raised in Frayser. Cartwright is considered a garage rock
legend and continues to perform sold-out shows across the world and release highly acclaimed records.[]
Hip-hop artists like Academy Award winning Frayser Boy
and fellow Hypnotize Minds
member, Lil Wyte
hail from the Frayser community.
Dallas Cowboys
Free Safety Ken Hamlin
attended Frayser High School.
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
.
History
Frayser is the western tip of a peninsula created by the Loosahatchie and Wolf Rivers as they converge into the Mississippi River just north of Downtown Memphis. Mud Island is the peninsula's southwest tip. Because it is situated between the 3rd and 4th of the Mississippi River's Chickasaw Bluffs, early settlers called it "The Point."In 1818 the territory bounded by the Ohio River on the north, the Tennessee River on the east, and the Mississippi River on the west was purchased from the Indians. Andrew Jackson represented US government at the transaction and the new territory became known as The Jackson Purchase and what is now Tennessee was part of North Carolina.
Much of the land now known as Frayser was given to a Mr. Hendron for his services in the North Carolina State Militia during the Revolutionary War. In 1822, Anderson B. Carr, Dr. Frank Rice and J.C. McLemore purchased 5000 acres (20.2 km²) here.
One of the earliest settlers was a Mr. Cousins, who came from southern England just prior to the Civil War. He established his home in the area and, using slave labor, had many beautiful terraces carved out of the face of the hill behind the old Harvester Plant. Mr. Cousins opened one of the first country stores in the area on the Randolph Road off N. Second St. He also operated a cotton gin on the place.
In 1858 Reverend Davidson, a circuit riding Methodist minister, began a four church circuit through North Shelby County. He legally described his Frayser stop as “Under the giant Oak tree on Point Church Road,” which then was a path through farmland with thousands of Oak trees. Accounts of early services indicate lots of singing, shouting and praying in an interdenominational congregation. The old church cemetery located in the 3900 block of Overton Crossing has gravestones dated 1878.
After several years of meetings outdoors, a small wood chapel was built. Called The Point Chapel, it was located near what is now the southwest corner of the Southwest Tennessee Community College campus.
In 1869, tracks of the Paducah & Memphis Railroad were laid from Memphis to Covington as part of the Chesapeake, Ohio & Southwestern Railroad. In 1873 a reporter described his trip to Covington by rail. He told of “wild looking, heavily timbered country” north of the Wolf River. He added, “there were a few highly cultivated farms with tasteful improvements but, what was usually seen from the train were little clearings as in some wild western country....not a single well worked field of corn or cotton was seen on either side.”
The old C.O. & S tracks, which now go through a deep ravine cut by the I.C.R.R. once climbed a hill at “Gooseneck Bend” so steep that push engines were used to make the grade.
Frayser Station, est. 1877
On Sept. 19, 1877 a Post Office was established on the Paducah & Memphis line. At that time The Point was very sparsely populated with a combination of small farms and summer estates owned by rich Memphians. Dr. J. R. Frayser, a prominent old Memphis physician, was one of many wealthy Memphians who invested in property along the new railroad to the north and built a summer home to use as a haven when fever epidemics struck Memphis. His land was at the intersection of roads leading to Big Creek (Millington Rd.) and Raleigh (Whitney-Dellwood), across from the small railroad depot that become known as Frayser Station.
The arrival of the railroad through The Point brought immigration. An Italian vegetable farmer named Dallosta settled on The Point and began sponsored other farming immigrant families from his home in northern Italy. By 1900, Frayser Station had become a predominantly Italian community.
In 1889, the C.O. & S. railroad line was purchased by the Illinois Central system. At that time the ICRR connected Chicago with Fulton, KY. The ICRR added lines going to New Orleans and changed its name to the I.C. Gulf R.R. For years the passenger train through Frayser was called the Fulton Accommodation.
Frayser Station was not the depot on The Point. A railroad stop two miles (3 km) farther north was named for Squire Ben Felt, a prominent resident who helped form The Point Church, and a third was located at Overton, on the south side of the Loosahatchie River. Another community east of Frayser Station, above the Hindman Ferry, became a futuristic subdivision called Rugby Hills Estates. The area north of Rugby Hills was called Ardmore.
With the automobile came the demise of passenger traffic on the railroad. The railroad depots were closed and over the years the station part of the name was dropped. Today, the entire western tip of what was The Point is simply known as Frayser.
Frayser developed in the mid twentieth century as an industrial, working class suburb due to its proximity to the industrial area of Memphis, including a large International Harvester
International Harvester
International Harvester Company was a United States agricultural machinery, construction equipment, vehicle, commercial truck, and household and commercial products manufacturer. In 1902, J.P...
plant.
Demographics
As factories in the area began to close, the population of Frayser began to markedly dwindle in the 1970s and 80s, and it stands at 51,068 today. With a large majority of its residents earning incomes below the poverty line, only 6% holding college degrees, and a continued lack of business and industrial investment, the neighborhood is now one of the most economically depressed & highest crime-rated areas of Memphis.Ethnicity statistics
White: 23.9%
Black: 74.2%
Hispanic: 1.2%
Source: Demographics Now, U.S. Census, 2000
Environment
The neighborhood faces environmental problems because of industrial waste runoff and contamination at or near the sites of now abandoned factories, which has made some land in Frayser virtually uninhabitable without cleanup.Notable residents
The community is home of multi-award winning songwriter Gary Harrison. Among his many hit songs is "Wrong Side of MemphisWrong Side of Memphis
"Wrong Side of Memphis" is the title of a country music song written by Matraca Berg and Gary Harrison. First recorded by John Berry on his 1990 independent album Saddle the Wind, it was later released by American country music singer, Trisha Yearwood in 1992...
", a number one record for Trisha Yearwood
Trisha Yearwood
Patricia Lynn Yearwood, professionally known as Trisha Yearwood , is an American country music artist. She is best known for her ballads about vulnerable young women from a female perspective that have been described by some music critics as "strong" and "confident."Trisha Yearwood signed with MCA...
. It is an autobiographical song about leaving Frayser for Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
.
Greg Cartwright
Greg Cartwright
Greg Cartwright, also known by his stage name Greg Oblivian, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Memphis, Tennessee. He currently fronts Reigning Sound and lives in Asheville, North Carolina...
of the Memphis-based bands The Oblivians, The Compulsive Gamblers
Compulsive Gamblers
Compulsive Gamblers were a garage-rock group formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1990 by Greg Cartwright and Jack Yarber, both future members of the Oblivians.-First incarnation:...
and his current group, Reigning Sound
Reigning Sound
The Reigning Sound is an American garage punk band originally based out of Memphis, Tennessee, now located in Asheville, North Carolina. The band's current lineup includes former Oblivians and Compulsive Gamblers frontman Greg Cartwright on lead vocals and guitar, David Wayne Gay on bass, Lance...
was born and raised in Frayser. Cartwright is considered a garage rock
Garage rock
Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name...
legend and continues to perform sold-out shows across the world and release highly acclaimed records.[]
Hip-hop artists like Academy Award winning Frayser Boy
Frayser Boy
Frayser Boy is an Academy Award-winning rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He was formerly signed to Hypnotize Minds, the label run by Three 6 Mafia members DJ Paul and Juicy J. He had released 3 albums under the Hypnotize label: Gone on That Bay , Me Being Me , and Da Key .-External links:...
and fellow Hypnotize Minds
Hypnotize Minds
Hypnotize Minds is a record label started by the Memphis rap group Three 6 Mafia.This record label consists of an extended collective of rappers around in-house producers DJ Paul and Juicy J. Its central group is Three 6 Mafia, which features DJ Paul and Juicy J...
member, Lil Wyte
Lil Wyte
Patrick Lanshaw , better known by his stage name Lil Wyte, is an American rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He is a member of the rap collective Hypnotize Minds.- Early life :...
hail from the Frayser community.
Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
Free Safety Ken Hamlin
Ken Hamlin
Ken Hamlin an American football safety, who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Arkansas....
attended Frayser High School.