In 1901, the City of Memphis acquired over 300 acres of land (then called Lea Woods) from the heirs of John Overton, a co-founder of the city and best friend to Andrew Jackson. The land, on what was then the eastern boarder of Memphis, became the city’s first public park.
A year after purchasing the land, a local newspaper held a competition to give this new park a name. It was soon christened Overton Park.
In its more than 120-year history, the park has grown to house the Memphis Zoo, a golf course, the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, numerous hiking and biking trails, a lake, the Overton Park Shell, and more.
The park is now run by a nonprofit called Overton Park Conservancy.
Joining this week’s WKNO/Channel 10 Behind the Headlines, Overton Park Conservancy’s Executive Director Tina Sullivan discusses the non-profit organization she currently works for with host Eric Barnes and Daily Memphian reporter Bill Dries.
Sullivan reveals some of what it takes to run a park with a $1 million budget and roughly 1.4 million visitors yearly (as of 2023).
In addition, Sullivan talks about the park’s promising future as she plans to step down from the job.
