Shelby County

As agents for the State of Tennessee, Andrew Jackson and Isaac Shelby purchased land from the Chickasaw Nation in 1818 that eventually became West Tennessee. In 1819, with fewer than 400 inhabitants, Shelby County was formed and named for Isaac Shelby. From it’s early days as a valuable site on the Mississippi River for the French and Spanish, to the current world headquarters for FedEx, Shelby County has been a strategic location for commerce, whether in cotton, music or overnight packages. The county’s diverse and sometimes tragic, history includes Clarence Saunders creation of the first self-service grocery store, Beale Street, Elvis Presley, the assignation of Martin Luther King Jr, the first Holiday Inn and STAX, Sun and American Sound recording studios. Images of America: Shelby County also looks at the municipalities that make up the largest county in Tennessee. Cities such a Bartlett, Collierville, and Germantown began in the mid 1800’s as small farming communities and today have the highest growth rate in the state.