Marcus Winchester, the first mayor of Memphis, would turn 250 years old on May 28, 2026. Winchester is the subject of a new biography by Memphis-born author R. Scott Williams, whose Townmania: Marcus Winchester and the Making of Memphis aims to shed light on this often-overshadowed historical figure.
Winchester was integral to the early days of Memphis, when it was little more than a trading post on the Mississippi River. He opened the first store here and was the first real estate agent in town. He also started the first bank in Memphis and served as the city’s postmaster for longer than he did as mayor. So why is Winchester more footnote than historical headline? That question is exactly what Williams set out to answer in his fourth and newest book.
Tennessee Roots
Williams grew up hearing stories told by his grandparents, learning about the people who came before him. Both sides of his family had deep roots in rural Haywood County, Tennessee, where Williams was a self-described “goofy kid” who would ask family members to recount family lore for his squeaking tape recorder or, eventually, video camera. His paternal grandmother kept a box of photographs on top of a cabinet and would take them down and tell him stories about the past.
“Her stories were filled with all types of murder, sin, and excitement, so she probably gets most of the credit for instilling a love of storytelling and history in me,” Williams remembers with a laugh…