Shelby Farms

Shelby Farms is a public park located in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. It is one of the largest urban parks in the U.S. at a size of 4,500 acres (1, 800 ha). Shelby Farms is owned by the Shelby County government and managed by the Shelby Farms Park Conservancy since 2007 under a public–private partnership. The conservancy provides for the daily operation of the park and plans for its future use. The land Shelby Farms sits atop today was the site of the Nashoba Community, which was founded by humanist reformer Frances Wright in 1825. Throughout the 1800s, the commune provided practical and cultural education to emancipated slaves after they worked off the costs of their indentured servitude. From 1929 until 1964, Shelby Farms was used as a penal farm operated by the Shelby County Government. Shelby Farms was opened for recreational purposes in the 1970s. In 2008, a masterplan was put in place for the redesign of the park. The re-design provided additional hiking and biking trails as well as more opportunities for boating in an enlarged Hyde Lake, formerly known as Patriot Lake. Shelby Farms contains lakes, natural forests, and wetlands which provide natural habitats for wildlife. Shelby Farms Park is also home to a bison herd.

Park data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).