Marking Memphis: Tracing Memphis History through the T. H. Hayes Ledgers

Abstract

We decided to work together after having similar desires to research common addresses that were referenced within the T. H. Hayes ledgers. Through this project, we attempted to highlight the significance of these highly-referenced hospitals, physicians, cemeteries, and schools. We decided to use the application StoryMap in order to visually represent these locations. We researched addresses and history for the locations, used books and websites to find then pictures of the locations in the early 20th century, and photographed the locations as they appear now. We then Photoshopped the then and now images for a side-by-side comparison and uploaded them to our story map according to their corresponding addresses. This allowed us to shed light on the scope and significance of these underrepresented aspects of Memphis history. While StoryMap helped us achieve this, its image size and layout restrictions on the website proved it to be a useful but limited tool.