Premium

An old house filled with old stuff. A complicated past. And one thing that grosses kids out.

By , Daily Memphian Updated: July 12, 2025 9:48 PM CT | Published: July 12, 2025 5:04 PM CT

The history of Davies Manor is complicated in more ways than one.

To start, no one is quite sure what year construction began (best guess is 1831-32) on the one-room cabin that would eventually become the Davies plantation, now considered the oldest extant home in Shelby County. Historians aren’t even sure exactly who built that first cabin, although they have made educated guesses.

But that historical mystery pales in comparison to the fact that this property in the far reaches of the county served for decades as a plantation where enslaved people lived, worked and died.

This is an excerpt of this story. To read more, please click here and subscribe.

Topics

Davies Manor slavery Memphis history Memphis museums Subscriber Only

Thank you for supporting local journalism.

Subscribers to The Daily Memphian help fund our not-for-profit newsroom of nearly 40 local journalists plus more than 20 freelancers, all of whom work around the clock to cover the issues impacting our community. Subscriptions - and donations - also help fund our community access programs which provide free access to K-12 schools, community organizations, and more. Thank you for making our work possible.

Jody Callahan

Jody Callahan graduated with degrees in journalism and economics from what is now known as the University of Memphis. He has covered news in Memphis for more than 25 years.


Comments

Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here