Memphis that almost wasn’t
History teacher Kenneth Read talks to students from Westminster Academy about Court Square as he stands on Hebe Fountain during a class outing on Nov. 1. The fountain is one of the few landmarks from the 1870s — Memphis' most challenging decade — that is still standing. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
"Memphis Reborn," a new book about Memphis in the 1880s, begins with the city "at its absolute low point."
Topics
Lucius McGehee Yellow fever
Jill Johnson Piper
Jill Johnson Piper is a second generation newspaper writer with roots in Memphis and Arkansas. She earned a B.A. in English from Rhodes College. Her work appears in Rhodes Today and Memphis magazine, as well as The Daily Memphian.