tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46855447268072783532012-02-15T23:06:15.909-08:00This island, located in the Mississippi River off of Memphis, was once home to hundreds of black refugees who fled plantations and farms in northwest Mississippi and Tennessee.alisea mcleodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03312119205535954654noreply@blogger.comBlogger81100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4685544726807278353.post-73153779953207335072011-03-31T18:19:00.000-07:002011-03-31T18:24:35.922-07:00

I recently learned of East High School history teacher Mark Scott and his students' attempt to preserve a one-room school house once located on President's Island. The students have been researching the history of the school including conducting oral history interviews. They have developed a blog around the project which hopes to have the building moved from the MidSouth Fairgrounds to the East

alisea mcleodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03312119205535954654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4685544726807278353.post-64724075493397876472009-04-30T11:11:00.001-07:002009-04-30T11:41:28.781-07:00

This volume, published by the Federal Writer's Project, provides a paragraph on President's Island. Read it here. Either I have grossly underestimated the size of the island, or this publication grossly overestimated it, but the stated size in this text is 32,000 acres.The article also states that the island was named after Andrew Jackson, who for a time owned land there. Most people I believe

alisea mcleodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03312119205535954654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4685544726807278353.post-88097540613481578802009-04-30T11:11:00.000-07:002009-04-30T11:12:20.078-07:00

alisea mcleodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03312119205535954654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4685544726807278353.post-90046222692910950912009-04-27T16:51:00.000-07:002009-04-27T17:38:57.812-07:00

Click here. The island appears in the distance. The elevation is 700 ft.Photo courtesy of the Tennessee State Library and Archives

alisea mcleodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03312119205535954654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4685544726807278353.post-39193338402082450992009-03-09T09:14:00.000-07:002009-03-09T11:57:11.181-07:00

GeographyThough President's Island* has always suffered flooding, it is said to exist on high ground. Though people assume that the island is named after Andrew Jackson, who appears to have once owned land there, the name predates this history. The truth is that the island, earlier called President Island, was so called because of its size. Known also as Island No. 45, it is one of the largest,

alisea mcleodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03312119205535954654noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4685544726807278353.post-63333692633948728682009-01-13T16:12:00.000-08:002009-01-13T17:05:07.993-08:00

In May of 1863, well-known abolitionist Levi Coffin visited President's Island, as well as several other camps in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas. At President's Island, he met John Eaton, then a colonel and superintendent over contraband in the West.According to Coffin, the camp had been recently formed, and the freedmen (as they were now called since the Emancipation Proclamation) were

alisea mcleodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03312119205535954654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4685544726807278353.post-34611971144268684192009-01-04T11:31:00.000-08:002009-01-05T11:06:38.219-08:00

This photo of the New Hope Baptist Church appeared in the Press-Scimitar, November 2, 1937. (From the files of the Memphis Public Library, Central Branch)An excerpt from the article reads:"The negroes on 'Mr. Joe's' place are happy and carefree. There is a negro Baptist church on the island and one old negro said when services are held' members come out of the bushes like bees out of a

alisea mcleodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03312119205535954654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4685544726807278353.post-59664775272563587502008-11-09T14:26:00.000-08:002008-11-09T14:37:48.245-08:00

A few years ago, I learned that my great-great grandfather, Daniel Walker Williams, had lived on President's Island for about twenty years. At the time, I had just begun researching his life and our family's history in Memphis, so I also then knew little of President's Island. I learned of his residence there after finding a Freedman's Bank record on which this residence was listed. Since then,

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