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Heritage Hall, which occupies the old First National Bank building on the square, contains local history displays and natural science exhibits. Brookhollow Country Club Lake, a private fishing lake with cabin sites, is six miles northeast of the city. In addition, Memphis is noted for its tree-lined streets, city park, one swimming pool, community center, and 50 blocks of brick paving laid in 1926. In 1986, the city had a cotton compress, gins, a grain elevator, two banks, eight churches, four public schools, a modern medical complex, two motels, several mercantile stores (including three wholesale houses), and a municipal airport northeast of town. Since the Great Depression era, Memphis has continued as a farm supply center. Four years later, they staged a rodeo as part of the annual two-day celebration. Ewen and his wife formed the Hall County Old Settlers' Reunion (later the Hall County Picnic Association).
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In 1922, the city's Morning Side addition was founded east of the tracks as a residential area for blacks who labored in the cotton fields and mills. By the 1920s, Memphis had a new brick-and-stone courthouse, modern utilities, a cotton compress, three hotels, brick school buildings, and a Carnegie Library. The only newspaper extant in 1986, the Memphis Democrat, was launched in 1908 and went through a succession of owners. Memphis had at one time or another several newspapers, including the Hall County Record (1889–1893), the Hall County Herald (1890–1928), the Memphis Journal (1892–1894), the Memphis Times (1896), the Memphis Leader (1897–1899), the Hall County News (1897–1903), and the Memphis News (1928–1929). The Memphis Cotton Oil Mill was established in 1907. In June 1906, the town was incorporated with a mayor-council form of city government. Telephone service was first installed in 1901. Pyle began Baptist congregations throughout the county. The Missionary Baptist Church was organized in Memphis its minister Rev. Two saloons, a bank, numerous stores, blacksmith shops, and livery stables attested to its role as a shipping and trading center for area ranchers and farmers. In 1891, a depot was built, and businesses were moved on wheels from Salisbury to the new county seat, where a courthouse of homemade bricks was constructed in 1892. A subsequent agreement was struck between town promoters and railroad officials. Since Memphis was without a depot and trains did not stop there, certain citizens sought to remedy that situation by smearing the tracks with lye soap. County officers were elected in June, and a school district was subsequently formed. Memphis won the election with a total of 84 votes. Memphis was engaged in a heated county seat battle with neighboring Salisbury and Lakeview. In the meantime, Hall County was being organized. The name was submitted and accepted, and a post office was established on September 12, 1890, with Robertson as postmaster. Finally, as the story goes, Reverend Brice, while in Austin, happened to see a letter addressed by accident to Memphis, Texas, rather than Tennessee, with the notation "no such town in Texas".
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Several suggestions were submitted to federal postal authorities, but with negative results. For a time, the new town was without a name. A rooming house (later the Memphis Hotel), a general store, a drugstore, and several residences were soon erected. Woods, Jr., of Dallas, formed a townsite company and presented a plat early in January 1890. Robertson, who had a dugout near Parker Creek. This land had been previously owned by W. Montgomery purchased land for a townsite north of Salisbury on the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway. Highway 287, State Highway 256, and Farm Road 1547, in the northeastern part of the county. Memphis, Texas, the county seat of Hall County, is at the junction of U.S.
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