Chickasaw Heritage Park

From a nature standpoint, there is nothing remarkable about this park. It's a patch of grass with a basketball hoop and a few aesthetically pleasing mounds. From a city planning point of view, this park is well thought out. You have an 1800s era army recruiting station and metalwork museum on one side, the French fort historic district on the other, and they are enclosed on the remaining side by the Mississippi River and a slice of the Memphis skyline.

On Sunday morning after eating breakfast in West Memphis, Arkansas, we headed back into Memphis via Rt 55 Bridge and took the first exit on right as you cross the Mighty Mississippi River.The road stops at a stop sign and you make a left and you are on Metal Museum Drive. To your immediate Left is the Chickasaw Heritage Park sign and statue of the Indian Lady. To your right is the abandoned Memphis Marine Military Hospital...scary looking!!!The park is a good size park with bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River with historical markers talking about Desoto. I never did see a sign that mentioned DeSoto Park so I am wondering if this is the same location. There are Indian burial mounds and plenty of green grass to walk, stroll or jog or just play ball or have a picnic and family fun. some history about the park I found on the internet:Legacies - Chickasaw Heritage Park147 Metal Museum Drive, Memphis TN 38106Located in Memphis' French Fort Community, the 17-acre, historically significant park features Native American earth mounds, historic markers, walking paths and scenic views of the Mississippi River. The sculpture references the history of Chickasaw Heritage Park, which includes the Chucalissa tradition, explorer Hernando DeSoto, Spanish settlers, Fort Pickering, and a settlement of former slaves. The park offers a quiet, relaxing refuge, whose walking paths crisscross the park, also providing access to the neighboring Metal Museum.Bagwell describes her Legacies sculpture as a work that "bequeaths future generations, with a glimpse of some of the rich history that revolves around the Chickasaw Native Americans, African Americans, and Hispanic Americans in Memphis. I have been inspired to weave some of these memories into my concept."I would go here again!! Free and Nice location..a must if you live in the area or are visiting the area soon!!!

Sometimes, you need a place to hide. The mounds in Chickasaw Heritage Park just south of Downtown get the job done (and have a great view of the Mississippi River). The earth mounds in Chickasaw Heritage park (across the street from the National Ornamental Metal Museum) are one of my favorite places to go when I need some quiet. Even if there are other people around, sitting on top of them and having lunch is like taking a wee tiny vacation.According to Memphis Heritage, the mounds were constructed between 400 - 700 AD and 1000 - 1500 AD. One of them is almost plateau-like, while the other (my favorite) has a bowl-shaped crater that's about four feet deep in the middle of it.The easiest way to get to the top of the mounds is to either climb them gently or run to the top. They're pretty steep, so be careful, and try to run down them at an angle. If it's snowing, they're a great place to sled (or, without snow, to surf on a piece of cardboard).Chicksaw Heritage Park is open from dawn until dusk every day.

We grew up in this area in the 50s. My mom and dad has grocery store on Wisconsin Ave. There were many small companies down the street. The largest one was Esso (ExxonMobil). We walked next store was the park formerly known as DeSoto Park. It had a swing set and a walk in concrete swimming pool. We use play on the Indian burial mound by sliding down with cut out cardboards. At the time, we were kids and we didn't know that there were Indian buried here. We are very sorry. They had several canyons. There is a Lookout Post mound with a small wooden door where you can see the Mississippi River. The park is kept up very nice and clean. The Marine Veteran Hospital was vacant for years. It is now revocation into nice apartments. I highly recommend the visit with the Metal Museum.

Nice park facility. I am Choctaw so I was interested as this was originally a Choctaw settlement before the Chickasaws. The statue is beautifully done and the mounds are interesting to see. Lots of huge magnolias! Enjoyed paying tribute to my Chickasaw brothers.