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Though Mud Island may be a familiar part of Memphis life now, it hasn't always been a part of the city.
Mud Island, which started as an island and developed into a peninsula, wasn't created until about 50 years ago. Since then, it has become home to thousands of Memphis residents and a historical area with a museum and amphitheater.
Here is a look at the island's history and how it came to be.
What is the history of Mud Island?
Mud Island was not always in the Mississippi River. As a river ebbs and flows, sediment can build up or erode. In this instance, the ebbing and flowing from the Mississippi River allowed for sediment to build up and Mud Island to develop.
It first began to develop around 1900. Around 15 years later, there was concern that the land mass would grow so far south that it would block the harbor and all transport. To prevent this, the island was connected to the mainland, and the Wolf River was diverted to run between Mud Island and the mainland to keep the river's channel open.
Is Mud Island the original name?
Mud Island was initially called City Island until the name changed in the 1950s.
According to a 1947 edition of The Commercial Appeal, the name was up for debate in the 1940s. The area, originally called "City Island" or "The Island," was nicknamed Mud Island because of its origins.
The Commercial Appeal wrote, "'Mud Island' is only a nickname for what was originally a sandbar which appeared in what used to be the busiest part of the Memphis Harbor, when the packet trade was in full bloom and before the bridges were built."
The piece says that the City Engineering Department map referred to the area as City Island.
Mud Island airport
Mud Island was also home to an airport in the 60s and 70s. The Memphis Downtown Airport featured a 3,100-foot runway and a ferry to cross the water to mainland Memphis. The airport was built on the site of the present-day Mud Island Park.
The airport closed in the early 1970s because Interstate 40 was built across the southern part of Mud Island, connecting Tennessee and Arkansas.
When was Mud Island Park built?
The City of Memphis opened Mud Island Park on the south end of the peninsula as an attraction in 1982. When it first opened, attractions included the Mississippi River Museum, the Mud Island Amphitheater and Harbor Town.
The Mississippi River Museum, which closed in 2019, had 18 galleries and 5,000 artifacts covering 10,000 years of history regarding the river delta and Memphis.
The Mud Island Amphitheater is an outdoor amphitheater with a seating capacity of 5,000. The area was primarily used for concerts where major artists such as Journey, Bob Dylan, Peter Frampton and more would perform. Mud Island has not hosted a live music show at the amphitheater since 2018, when the city closed it due to hazards and liability concerns.
Are concerts coming back to the Mud Island Amphitheater?
Concerts will not return to Mud Island soon, as the City of Memphis officials said it would not allow concerts or events to be held there in the near future. The city cites multiple safety hazards and liability issues raised by a new architectural analysis of the amphitheater.
Key concerns about the amphitheater are “obstructions to critical life safety elements,” “noncompliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)” and “notable structural displacement.”
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis' Mud Island history offers more than park, unused amphitheater
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