Bartlett alderman revives idea of suburbs splitting from Shelby County
Bartlett Alderman David Reaves (left) and Robert Griffin during a meeting on June 24, 2025. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian file)
Bartlett Alderman David Reaves is renewing his call for the Shelby County suburbs to break away and potentially form their own county, a move that first surfaced more than 35 years ago.
But Reaves also is floating another option with the six outlying cities leaving Shelby and merging into adjacent counties.
But such a change would face multiple hurdles and many logistic factors. As evidence of the difficulties with such a move, no new county has formed in Tennessee in close to 150 years.
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David Reaves Neshoba County Shelby County Bartlett Arlington Mike Wissman Subscriber OnlyThank you for reading The Daily Memphian. Your support is critical.
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Michael Waddell
Michael Waddell is a native Memphian with more than 20 years of professional writing and editorial experience, working most recently with The Daily News and High Ground News.
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