Shelby Farms
Shelby Farms | |
---|---|
Type | Public park |
Location | Memphis, Tennessee |
Coordinates | 35°08′20″N 89°49′57″W / 35.1388°N 89.8325°W |
Area | 4,500 acres (1,800 ha) |
Created | 1970s |
Operated by | Shelby Farms Park Conservancy |
Status | Open all year from dawn to dusk |
Public transit access | MATA: 53 |
Shelby Farms is a public park located in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, just east of the city of Memphis. It is one of the largest urban parks in the US and the world, at a size of 4,500 acres (1,800 ha) and covers more than five times the area of Central Park in New York City with 843 acres (341 ha).
The land Shelby Farm sits atop today was privately-owned property in the 19th century. In 1825,
From 1929 until 1964, Shelby Farms was used as a penal farm operated by the Shelby County Government.
Shelby Farms was opened for
In 2008, a masterplan was put in place for the redesign of the park. The re-design provided additional hiking and biking trails as well as more opportunities for boating in a much enlarged (and renamed) Hyde Lake, formerly known as Patriot Lake.
Geography
Encompassing about 4,500 acres (1,800 ha) of land,
Several lakes, natural forests, and the wetlands of the Wolf River are situated in hilly surroundings.
Wildlife
Shelby Farms park is home to a
History
19th century
In 1825,
Remains of an early settlement from the late 19th century can be found at the eastern tip of Shelby Farms park, consisting of ruins of a residential building, a disintegrated barn, car wrecks dating from the 1950s and 1960s, old fences and a family burial site.
In 2005, the family burial site of the Mann family exists with just one
Shelby County acquired 1,600 acres (650 ha) of land in 1928 for use as a penal farm.[4] The remaining formerly private property of 2,900 acres (1,200 ha) was incorporated into the Penal Farm between then and December 1940, when the Shelby County Commission authorized the purchase of the final 1,383 acres (560 ha), bringing the total to 4,450 acres (1,800 ha).[6]
20th century
From 1929 until 1964, Shelby Farms was used as a
In the 1970s the Shelby County Commission opened the area for
21st century
The Shelby Farms Park Alliance (SFPA) was granted a conservation
In 2007, an agreement was signed between the Shelby County
A masterplan was put in place in 2008 to direct a major re-design of the park. This came to fruition in 2016, when Shelby Farms opened a $52 million expansion that included an enlargement of Patriot Lake (renamed Hyde Lake), the addition of new walking and biking trails, the construction of a new visitors center, and the planting of more than 1 million new trees across the park. In the year after Heart of the Park opened, park staff estimated that visitation to Shelby Farms had more than doubled.[12]
Recreation
-
The Go Ape Zipline and Adventure
-
The First Horizon Foundation Visitor Center
-
The FedEx Event Center
The Shelby Farms Greenline is a 10.65-mile (17.14 km)
An 18-hole disc golf course is located near the welcome center of the park.[15]
A BMX race track sanctioned by USA BMX is located at 6435 Walnut Grove Rd.[16]
See also
- Nashoba Commune
- Frances Wright
References
- ^ Shelby Farms Park Info Archived 2010-01-26 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Trust for Public Land: The 150 Largest City Parks[permanent dead link]
- ^ Tom Charlier Oh, give me a home ... where new buffalo roam at Shelby Farms to improve bloodline Commercial Appeal, February 1, 2009 (Accessed October 27, 2009)
- ^ a b "View Master Plan | Shelby Farms Park Conservancy". Archived from the original on 2008-11-21. Retrieved 2008-08-31. SFPC Master Plan
- ^ http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/tn/shelby/cemeteries/mann.txt - RootsWeb
- ^ Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper, 03 Dec 1940
- ^ http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2007/Nov/22/calvin-anderson-an-opportunity-to-be-heard-on/ Commercial Appeal, Memphis
- ^ "Shelby Farms Park Alliance » the History of Shelby Farms Park". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-26. Shelby Farms Park Alliance (SFPA) conservation effort
- ^ "Newsroom_article_2007_0110_CA". Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-08-26. MemphisBioworks.org Article
- ^ "Shelby Farms Park Alliance » 2007 » July". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-26. Management agreement between SFPA and Shelby County
- ^ http://www.shelbyfarmspark.org/ Shelby Farms Park Conservancy (SFPC)
- ^ Charlier, Tom (August 31, 2017). "A year after expansion, Shelby Farms' visitation has 'easily doubled'". Commercial Appeal. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
- ^ "SFG". Archived from the original on 2012-06-08. Retrieved 2012-11-06.
- user-generated source]
- ^ "Memphis Disc Golf". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-08-26. Disk golf in Shelby Farms Park
- ^ http://www.shelbyfarmsbmx.com