Collierville, Tennessee, United States

🇺🇸 Collierville is a town in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and a suburb located in the Memphis metropolitan area. Collierville is the third largest municipality in the county after Memphis and Bartlett. It is home to the Carriage Crossing shopping mall and is served by Collierville Schools.

Founded by entrepreneur Jesse R. Collier in 1836, Collierville was the site of the First and Second Battles of Collierville during the American Civil War, during which the town suffered severe damage. After a period of regrowth, Collierville saw substantial economic expansion in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and now boasts a high quality of life. Collierville's downtown area is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and in 2014 Collierville's historic town square was ranked by Parade as the "Best Main Street" in America.

History Collierville is the second oldest town in Shelby County. The original town of Collierville was laid out in 1836 and named after entrepreneur Jesse R. Collier, who bought land and advertised it as "The Town of Collier"; the town was incorporated in 1850 under the mayorship of Richard Ramsey.

During the American Civil War, two battles were fought at Collierville in late 1863. During the First Battle of Collierville on 11 October 1863, Confederate Brigadier General James Chalmers's division of 3,000 men attacked the garrison established at Collierville to protect the Memphis and Charleston Railroad; the garrison was defended by Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman and the Confederates were repulsed. During the Second Battle of Collierville on 3 November, Chalmers was again repulsed, this time by Colonel Edward Hatch; Chalmers then withdrew to Mississippi. The railroad remained open to Tuscumbia, Alabama for United States troop movements. The estimated casualties were sixty on the side of the Union and ninety-five on the side of the Confederacy. Because of William T. Sherman's participation in the first engagement, his monument in Washington, D.C. lists "Colliersville" as one of his battles. Union commanders referred to it as "Colliersville" in the official reports.

The town sustained severe damage during the First Battle of Collierville and most of the town was completely burned down. Collierville was re-incorporated in 1870 under the mayorship of James B. Abington and during the twentieth century grew with help from the cotton, dairy, and manufacturing industries.

Kroger Incident On September 23, 2021, thirteen people were shot and two killed including the gunman in a mass shooting at a local Kroger store. Collierville Police Chief Dale Lane labeled it "the most horrific event that's occurred in Collierville history".

Geography Collierville has a total area of 24.6 square miles (64 km²), of which 24.5 square miles (63 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²), or 0.41%, is water.

Major thoroughfares • Interstate 269 • Nonconnah/Bill Morris Parkway (State Route 385) • U. S. Route 72 (Poplar Avenue)/Tennessee State Route 86 • State Route 57 (Poplar Avenue) • State Route 175 (Byhalia Road, Collierville Road, S Houston Levee Road, and E Shelby Drive) • State Route 205 (Collierville-Arlington Road).

Economy Collierville is part of the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metropolitan area. As such, the town's economy is highly interconnected with the greater Memphis region. Notable employers include regional leaders like FedEx, while local manufacturing facilities, such as Carrier, bring workers to the town. Approximately 67.2% of the town's population is in the civilian labor force (i.e., the share of the town's population over the age of 16 that is employed or unemployed but searching for employment), and about 3.9% of the town's population lived below the poverty line in 2019.

Household Income In 2019, approximately 56.6% of the town's population earned more than $100,000, with 23.9% earning between $100,000 and $149,999, 14.1% earning between $150,000 and $199,999, and 18.2% earning above $200,000.

Housing The average value of housing in Collierville, TN in 2017 was estimated to be $286,700, whereas market listings in 2021 estimate a value of approximately $433,000 following a steep increase in housing prices.

Education Of residents 25 years of age and older, 96% have a high school diploma or higher, 51.8% have a bachelor's degree or higher, and 18.2% have a graduate or professional degree. Of current students, 95.6% attend public schools and 4.4% attend private schools. Public schools have been under the jurisdiction of Collierville Schools since 2014, before which Collierville was served by Shelby County Schools until an August 2012 vote that passed with 10,615 (87%) votes to 1,519 (13%) laid the foundation for an independent district. Private schools include St. George's Independent School, the Goddard School, Central Learning Center, Collierville Methodist Preschool, and Incarnation Catholic School. In higher education, the University of Memphis formerly had a Collierville branch located on Poplar Avenue.

Elementary schools • Bailey Station Elementary School • Collierville Elementary School • Crosswind Elementary School • Sycamore Elementary School • Tara Oaks Elementary School • Schilling Farms Elementary School; Middle schools • Collierville Middle School • West Collierville Middle School; High schools • Collierville High School.

Culture Collierville's downtown area and town square have been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1990, and the Morton Museum of Collierville maintains a collection of the town's history. The Fair on the Square and the annual Symphony in the Rose Garden both take place every May in Collierville—the Fair has taken place every year since 1976. The Collierville Farmers Market has assembled in the parking lot of Collierville United Methodist Church since 2009.

The Collierville Burch Library—officially the Lucius E. and Elsie C. Burch, Jr. Library—is the town's municipal library. Collierville's first library opened in 1956 with three thousand books, but despite expansions, the facility could not keep pace with its growing book collection. The current library campus, adjacent to the town hall, opened in March 2001. The Harrell Theatre—under the authority of the Collierville Arts Council, founded in 1987—is the local centre for performing arts.