National Register of Historic Places

Cotton Row Historic District

Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee
Listed
July 31, 1979
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
79002467

About this property

Cotton Row Historic District defines the center of the Mid-South Cotton Agri-business. From 1826, the first cotton arrived. These 300 bales were brought by wagon. Even today, cotton is important to Memphis. By the start of the American Civil War, Memphis with its river port, bankers, manufacturers, and brokers became the business focus for the Mid-South. By 1900, the city was the world's leading inland cotton market and the largest producer of cottonseed oil. During the 1880s and 1890s, between 400,000 and 700,000 cotton bales arrived yearly in Memphis. The cotton industry had a great influence on the city and the region. A variety of jobs were created, such as: spinners', buyers, buyers for expert, cotton classers, weighers, compress hands and clerks. The buildings of Front Row, aka Front Street were built in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They are utilitarian and unpretentious. Functionalism dominated the design of these building in a period when architectural expression was varied. The exceptions are the Joseph N. Oliver Building (99,101,103 South Front Street) and the Hart Building (48 South Front Street).

Location

Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee
35.14306, -90.05611

Categories

COMMERCE
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Everything a full report reveals about Cotton Row Historic District

This page lists Cotton Row Historic District. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with historic sites, battles and Native heritage plotted, and its full story era by era.
The Land
The historic sites and place names around the location, and how this land was settled and used.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back millions of years.
LiDAR Terrain
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks and old features hidden in the landscape.
Conflict & War
The battles, raids and skirmishes fought near here, across every era of American conflict.
The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
The men who marched from here in the Civil War, named and traced where the record allows.
Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
How the town grew, who came, and what kind of place it became, traced through the census record.
Rivers & Rail
The rivers, canals and railroads that connected this place between 1830 and 1911.
Notable People
The people born, buried or genuinely tied to this exact place, with their stories.
Historical Maps
Historic maps of the location layered over how it looks today.
Finds & Access
Museum objects tied to the area, and the laws on searching, collecting and access here.
Literature
The old books, county histories and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Points of Interest
The most significant historic sites and landmarks near the location, and why they matter.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from first peoples to the present day.
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Nearby Historic Sites

Memphis Landing
Listed
0.1 mi
Shrine Building
Industrial
0.1 mi
Gayoso-Peabody Historic District
Listed
0.1 mi
Gayoso-Peabody Historic District (Boundary Increase, Boundary Decrease)
Listed
0.2 mi
Peabody Hotel
Civil War
0.2 mi

Nearby Battles

Naval Battle of Memphis
1862Civil War
0.5 mi
Memphis Raid by Forrest
1864Civil War
0.5 mi

Questions about this property

When was Cotton Row Historic District listed on the National Register?

Cotton Row Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 31, 1979.

What type of historic resource is Cotton Row Historic District?

Cotton Row Historic District is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Cotton Row Historic District?

The period of significance for Cotton Row Historic District is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near Cotton Row Historic District?

Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Cotton Row Historic District will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.

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