It started in 1889, when J. C. Montgomery purchased land for a townsite north of Salisbury on the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

[citation needed] Since the Great Depression era, Memphis has continued as a farm supply center.

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.

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.

Heritage Hall, which occupies the old First National Bank building on the square, contains local history displays and natural science exhibits.

The route of the annual Cotton Boll Enduro, a 125-mile cross-country motorcycle event held in late October, begins and ends at Memphis.

A timeline of significant events in Memphis' history: 1889: Land was bought along the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway 1890: Townsite platted, yet names were rejected by postal authorities until September of that year 1891: Memphis wins contested election for county seat against towns of Salisbury and Lakeview 1891: Depot built after Memphians kept putting soap on rails to stop trains 1892: Courthouse constructed 1901: Memphis gets telephone service 1906: Town is incorporated 1912: Memphis gets its own Carnegie Library 1923: New courthouse built 1926: 50 blocks of streets are paved with brick In September 2013, a federal suit was filed by Laura Dutton, alleging that the cities of Estelline and Memphis, former Officer Jayson Fry and Memphis Police Chief Chris Jolly violated her Fourth Amendment rights against illegal search and seizure when she was arrested November 28, 2012, in Estelline on a felony money-laundering charge, seizing more than $29,000 from her pickup and illegally keeping $1,400 of her cash.

The city of Estelline maintained no written records of past searches or seizures, yet traffic fines and forfeitures made up more than 89% of its gross revenues in fiscal year 2012.

Thornberry represents Texas's 13th congressional district, a Republican stronghold which stretches between the Oklahoma and New Mexico borders.

[19] Kelton Gray Seliger is a Republican member of the Texas State Senate representing District 31, which stretches from the Panhandle to the Permian Basin.

As defined by the Texas Legislature, the official service area of Clarendon College is Armstrong, Briscoe, Childress, Collingsworth, Donley, Gray, Hall, and Wheeler Counties.

[22] Owner: Blackburn Media Group Inc Founded: 1890, (previously known as the Memphis Democrat) Shari Watson is the editor of the Hall County Herald Mailing address: 617 W. Main, Memphis, TX 79245-3703 Owner: Blackburn Media Group Inc Founded: July, 2014, (previously the Childress Index) Ginger Wilson is the editor of the Red River Sun Mailing address: PO Box 1260, Childress, TX 79201[24] Owner: Roger A. Estlack Founded: 1878, (as the Clarendon News) Roger A. Estlack is the editor of the Clarendon Enterprise Mailing address: PO Box 1110, Clarendon, TX 79226-1110[25] Owner: Morris Communications LLC Founded: 1909, (as the Amarillo Daily News) Darci Heiskell is the editor of the Amarillo Globe-News Mailing address: 900 S. Harrison, Amarillo, TX 79101 Web Site: Amarillo Globe-News: Local News, Politics & Sports in Amarillo, TX Owner: Morris Communications LLC Founded: 1900 James Bennett is the editor of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal Mailing address: 710 Ave. J, Lubbock, TX 79401 Web Site: Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Local News, Politics & Sports in Lubbock, TX

City: Amarillo, Texas Owner: Amarillo Junior College Web Site: kacv.org Station Info: Digital Educational Full-Power NBC ID: "KAMR Local 4 News" City: Amarillo, TX Owner: Nexstar Media Group Web Site: KAMR – MyHighPlains.com Station Info: Digital Full-Power ABC ID: "ABC 7 News" City: Amarillo, TX Owner: Sinclair Broadcast Group Web Site: Amarillo News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News Station Info: Digital Full-Power CBS ID: "NewsChannel 10" City: Amarillo, TX Owner: Raycom Media Web Site: Home – KFDA – NewsChannel 10 / Amarillo News, Weather, Sports Station Info: Digital Full-Power FOX ID: "KCIT Fox 14" City: Amarillo, TX Owner: Mission Broadcasting (operated by Nexstar Media Group Web Site: KAMR – MyHighPlains.com Station Info: Digital full-power [26] Memphis is home to the Annual Traditional Bowhunters 3D target competition and Annual Country Club Memorial Day Tournament.