Davy Crockett Park is located on what Shelby
County's early settlers called "The Point" -- a narrow ridge of high ground
situated between the 3rd and 4th of the river's Chickasaw Bluffs that is 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 and the neighborhoods of
Frayser, Raleigh and Bartlett are located here. The park is named in honor of Col. David
Crockett who, prior to his death at the Alamo fighting for Texas independence, served West
Tennessee as it's U.S. Congressman. The land in and around the park have a long and
storied history.
Originally, land in these parts was the domain of Native Americans -- first the
Monsoupeleas and then the Chickasaws. After the Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto
discovered the Mississippi River near Memphis In 1541, the land along the river was
claimed by various European powers. In 1682, French explorer LaSalle came down the
Mississippi River from Canada claiming the land he passed in the name of France. The
French tried and failed to establish a garrison on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff in Memphis but
their reign ended in 1763 when they relinquished their interests on the continent to Spain
in a secret treaty. The following year the Spanish signed a treaty giving all land on the
eastern side of the Mississippi River valley to Great Britain. As a reward for helping
America defeat the British, Spain once again gained control of the land in Florida and
subsequently claimed all lands westward, as far north as the Tennessee River, as her realm
in 1783. They took another turn trying to establish a garrison and rule the area but, the
hostile Chickasaws steadily refused to accept their domain and to make matters worse,
settlers from the Cumberland Valley were moving into the wilderness in large numbers and
establishing settlements here.
Eventually, in 1798, the Spanish burned their stockade and left. The land became part of
the State of North Carolina but the Chickasaws still considered it their domain. In 1802,
a small trading post was erected in Memphis by the U.S. War Department in accordance with
President Jefferson's express policy of encouraging the natives to go into debt so that
they would be forced to turn over their lands to the United States.
It was 1818 before the Chickasaws agreed to relinquish their claim to the land in a treaty
negotiated by General Andrew Jackson that history refers to as "The Jackson
Purchase". The original American owners generally acquired wilderness land as a
reward for military service. Very few of them ever saw their land, and those who did
sometimes found it was already inhabited by squatters who, in some cases, had been here
before America won it's independence. Before 1819, when James Winchester, John Overton and
Andrew Jackson entered into an agreement to build the town of Memphis, and 11 years before
the towns first church -- First Methodist was organized, churches had already been
organized l in settlements near what is now Davy Crockett Park -- Big Creek, Egypt, The
Point (Frayser) and Raleigh.
Davy Crockett--Davy Crockett was lured from his Rutherford
County home to a new land in West Tennessee after hearing about the earthquakes that
created Reelfoot Lake in 1811 & 1812. He settled on the south fork of the Obion River
where he farmed, hunted and educated a family. After service in the State Legislature, he
served West Tennessee as it's U.S. Congressman from 1827- 35. Crockett championed
Squatters and Indian Rights and for most of the early 1800s, while Memphis and Randolph --
a river town on the Hatchie River, were competing to see which one would become the major
river port for western Tennessee, Crockett supported Randolph while General Andrew
Jackson, who would later become President and who Crockett had served under during the
Creek Indian War, was anti-Indian Rights. Jackson was also promoting his real estate
partnership -- a venture that created the City of Memphis. Their rift continued after
Jackson became President and eventually, it would cost Crockett his job. Jackson was in
favor of a bill that would re-write Indian treaties and take away Indians rights. Crockett
opposed the bill and, as a result, became the target for one of the dirtiest campaigns in
West Tennessee history. During the final days of the campaign, Crockett's character was
discredited, costing him the election by a narrow margin. His motto had always been,
"Be always sure you're right, then go ahead." But, in 1835, his farewell speech
included some famous last words to President Jackson and his cronies, "You can go to
hell, I'm going to Texas." In March 5,1836, at age 49, he died a hero's death at the
Alamo helping Texas win independence from Mexico. The Point was the overland route Shelby
County's earliest residents traveled and it is likely that Col. Crockett rode two ancient
trails that once intersected near the current Crockett G.C. clubhouse. One road connected
Egypt to The Point (Frayser) while the other led from Raleigh through Spring Hill and
northwest to a Loosahatchie River crossing called Overton -- located just west of what now
is the 15th tee at Davy Crockett Golf Course. Congressman Crockett, a notorious carouser
who was said to have, "campaigned with a bottle of whiskey in one pocket and a pouch
of tobacco in the other", probably patronized Frayser's first non-agricultural
industry, "moonshining", a business that thrived at this crossroad for many
years. A sliced drive off Hole #1 will lead you to the spring that was the site of
"Son Rodgers Still". Actually, booze and bricks were major industries in these
parts for years. Abundant spring water, dense forests, woods and rugged terrain allowed
moonshiners an ideal setting from which to supply the bars in Memphis. During Prohibition,
Frank's Place, a tavern on the west tip of The Point, overlooking Downtown Memphis, was
said to be the county's largest bootlegging operation. And, the rich clay soil which that
is unique to "The Point" allowed two Frayser brickyards, Warner and Denny, to
change the architectural face of Memphis from wood frame to brick.
The Park--When the City of Memphis annexed the Frayser
area in 1958 they began acquiring land for a regional park to serve the area. Part of the
land was acquired from the estate of Mr. Schoolfield -- a man known as "The Pillar of
Point Church", the area's first church. He was so active in the church that in 1926
when a new sanctuary was built it was named Schoolfield Methodist Church in his honor. The
other half of the park, where Son Rodgers still was located, was "Pappa Cook's Hog
Farm". Legend has it that fertilizer and hog feed was not all he hauled to and from
his farm.
The Golf Course--The original golf course consisted of nine
holes (the current back nine) which opened in 1961. Harry Isabel supervised it's
construction. In 1966 a second nine was added. The course was the site of the first
Memphis Publinx Championship and has hosted the final round of the City Publinx more times
than any other of the Memphis Park Commission's 7 courses. During the 1970s & 80s the
course suffered due to the turmoil of Civil Rights legislation which resulted in massive
"White Flight" out of Frayser, and the closing of several large manufacturing
plants which were the backbone of the area's economy. In 1985 the Park Commission set
about to revive the golf course. As a result, today the course features 6200 yards of
exciting golf played on Zoysia fairways and excellent Bermuda greens through one of Shelby
County's most beautifully preserved hardwood forests. At Crockett you can walk in the
footsteps of Davy Crockett and play golf the way it was meant to be played -- No Noise, No
Houses, No Cars! Best of all, our prices are the best in town!
