Mu 1819, John Overton, Andrew Jackson, ndi James Winchester anakhazikitsa mzinda wa Memphis pa Chickasaw bluff yachinayi.
Ankaona kuti chiwonongekochi chinali chitsime chachilengedwe cholimbana ndi otsutsa, komanso chilengedwe chotsutsana ndi madzi osefukira a Mtsinje wa Mississippi. Kuwonjezera apo, mfundo yake pamtsinjeyo inapanga malo abwino komanso malo ogulitsa. Pachiyambi, Memphis anali ndi mazenera anayi ndipo anali ndi anthu makumi asanu. Mwana wa James Winchester, Marcus, anapangidwa kukhala bwanamkubwa woyamba wa mzindawo.
Oyamba kubwera ku Memphis anali ochokera ku Ireland ndi ku Germany ndipo anali ndi udindo waukulu pa kukula kwa mzindawu. Anthu othawa kwawo adatsegula malonda, kumanga malo, ndi kuyamba mipingo. Pamene Memphis inakula, akapolo adabweretsedwa kuti apititse patsogolo mzindawu, kumanga misewu ndi nyumba ndi kulima nthaka - makamaka minda ya thonje. Malonda a thonje anali opindulitsa kwambiri moti anthu ambiri sankafuna kuchoka ku Union pamayambiriro a Nkhondo Yachibadwidwe, osafuna kusiya ntchito zawo zamakampani kumpoto kwa United States.
Popeza ali ndi minda yokhala m'minda akudalira kwambiri akapolo, komabe mzindawo unagawidwa.
Chifukwa cha malo ake, Union ndi Confederacy onse adatsutsa zonena za mzindawo. Memphis ankagwira ntchito yosungira asilikali ku Confederacy mpaka ku South kunagonjetsedwa pa nkhondo ya ku Silo. Memphis ndiye anakhala likulu la mgwirizanowu kwa General Ulysses S.
Perekani. Zingakhale chifukwa cha malo ake ofunikira omwe mzindawu sunasokonezedwe monga ena ambiri mu Nkhondo Yachikhalidwe. Mmalo mwake, Memphis inali ikukula ndi anthu pafupifupi 55,000.
Pasanapite nthawi yaitali nkhondoyo itatha, mzindawo unagwa ndi matenda a malungo a chikasu omwe anapha anthu oposa 5,000. Ananso 25,000 anathaŵa m'deralo ndipo boma la Tennessee linaphwanya lamulo la Memphis mu 1879. Njira yatsopano yosungira madzi ndi kusungidwa kwa zitsime za artesian ikuyesa kuthetsa mliriwu umene unatsala pang'ono kuwononga mzindawu. Kwa zaka makumi angapo zotsatira, Memphiya okhulupirika ndi odzipatulira adayesa nthawi ndi ndalama zawo pobwezeretsa mzindawu. Mwa kumanganso malonda a thonje ndi kupanga malonda, mzindawo unasanduka umodzi mwa anthu ovuta kwambiri komanso olemera kwambiri kumwera.
M'zaka za m'ma 1960, kulimbikira ufulu wa anthu ku Memphis kunabwera pamutu. Ntchito yothandizira anthu ogwira ntchito yowonongeka inachititsa kuti anthu azikhala ndi ufulu wofanana komanso umphawi. Kulimbana kumeneku kunalimbikitsa Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. kuti apite ku mzindawu, kuti adziwitse dziko lonse mavuto omwe anthu ochepa ndi osauka akukumana nawo. Paulendo wake, Mfumu inaphedwa pa khonde la Lorraine Motel komwe anali kulankhula ndi gululo.
Galimoto ya motel imasinthidwa kukhala National Museum Rights Museum.
Kuwonjezera pa Museum, kusintha kwina kumawonekeranso ku Memphis. Mzindawu tsopano ndi malo amodzi omwe amawunikira kwambiri komanso akukhala ndi malo amodzi omwe ali aakulu kwambiri komanso okonzedwa bwino kwambiri m'zipatala. Downtown adalandira kukweza maso ndipo tsopano akukhala ku Beale Street, Mud Island, FedEx Forum, ndi nyumba zapamwamba, nyumba zamakono, ndi ma boutiques.
M'nthaŵi yake yonse yodalirika, Memphis wakhala akuwona nthawi zabwino ndi nthawi zovuta. Kupyolera mu zonsezi, mzindawu wakula bwino ndipo mosakayikira udzachita zimenezi mtsogolomu.