Cultural History of the Mid-South

In the Pink Palace’s Cultural Exhibits, a huge array of artifacts and dioramas invite you to explore our city’s past.

In The First Americans, butcher marks on a mastodon bone tell of a successful Paleolithic hunt. An extraordinary collection of finely crafted tools and Native American pottery are remnants of a complex civilization on the Mississippi. Mystical hunchback figures, grim disembodied human heads, and whimsical animal effigies, all carefully buried with the dead, reflect the spiritual beliefs of this mysterious culture.

The History of Memphis, 1800-1900 tells the story of Memphis from its birth as a frontier river town to its emergence as a vital Victorian Era city. Slavery and emancipation, disease and medicine, privilege and persecution are all brought to life through objects of both everyday life and extraordinary events. See Memphis housing from a reconstructed frontier cabin to an opulent Victorian music room  An horrific battle diorama forms the centerpiece of the Civil War gallery.  Thomas Harwell’s “mummy casket,” in its darkened alcove, represents an archeological mystery solved, while a mail coach, private buggy and public omnibus evoke the era of horse-drawn transportation.

Historic Black Memphians reveals the powerful impact of African Americans on the history of our city. Imagine the anger of the successful black businessman as he finds a miniature noose in his mail. And feel the pride of the Negro League’s Memphis Red Sox, playing for the love of the game.

Saddlebags to Science: A Century of Health Care in Memphis, 1830-1930 invites the visitor to explore the history of Memphis as a leader in the health care industry. Dioramas show a frontier doctor “leeching” a woman with tuberculosis, a Civil War amputation, an 1890s doctor’s office, a 1920s dentist office and a well-stocked pharmacy of the early 1900s.

A full-sized replica of the first Piggly Wiggly grocery store and the huge Clyde Parke Miniature Circus are especially popular with younger visitors.

From the Boss to the King: Memphis 1900 – 1960 located in the Pink Palace Mansion, takes up story of Memphis from the political era of Boss Crump to the musical revolution of Elvis Presley. Fashion plays a part in our exploration of the changing roles of women in the 20th century. A display of Cotton Carnival and Cotton Maker’s Jubilee finery shows a city divided by race but still celebrating the cotton culture. Finally, an eclectic array of Palace treasures, including the ever-popular shrunken head, represent the Museum’s early days as “Memphis’ Attic.”

There’s all this and so much more at the Pink Palace Museum.