Corner of Bellevue and Union Ave.Memphis, TN
Circa ??
(Samuel) Watkins Overton , Jr. (1894-1958) lived at the property.
Overton was the great, paternal grandson of Judge John Overton, a founder of Memphis and thus part of the greater Overton clan. His maternal grandparents were Napoleon and Mary Morton Wood Hill. Overton was married three times: Julia Alcorn Logan Overton (1896-1988)(m.1922); Bessie Ganong Overton (1904-1950)(m.1937); and Helen Frances Parker Overton (1920-1997)(m.1952). He was a lawyer with the firm founded by U.S. Senator Kenneth McKellar and served as mayor of Memphis in 1927. His major focus was the creation of the Memphis Municipal Airport which opened two years later in 1929. He also turned around the city budget deficit and ended with a $1M surplus. Other civic accomplishments were the building of Riverside Dr. and John Gaston Hospital.
The house was built across the street from his brother, John Overton, Jr.
Overton was elected to the Tennessee State Legislature in 1925, to the Tennessee Senate in 1927, and then became mayor from 1928-40, 1948-52. As mayor of Memphis, he pushed for and achieved the construction of Memphis Municipal Airport in 1929.
The home was demolished in 1918. See John Overton Home, Traveler's Rest, River Grange
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