144 Acres Added to First State Park In Memphis To Allow African AMericans

Tennessee officials say donors have added 144 acres to a state park in Memphis known for being the first one east of the Mississippi River to be open to African Americans. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation says the expansion of T.O. Fuller State Park is the result of a donation by philanthropists Hugh and Margaret Jones Fraser and the Carrington Jones family of Memphis. Nonprofits groups The Land Trust for Tennessee and Wolf River Conservancy helped with the acquisition. The park opened in 1938 and also was only the second state park nationwide that was open to African Americans.