30 U.S. Presidents (either before, during, or after their presidency) have visited Memphis. Of those, President Teddy Roosevelt's visit in 1907 may well be the most important. Here for the Deep Waterways Convention, he arrived aboard the USS Mississippi and landed at Memphis Cobblestone Landing, which today is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
President Roosevelt's speech in Memphis that day was the first address by a federal official and U. S. President on the need for a balance between commerce and conservation. Stewardship of land, water, and cultural heritage was a growing national interest, and as he said, it's time for "an inventory of the natural resources which have been handed down to us."
Yellowstone National Park had been established in 1872, the Antiquities Act expanding the park system and granting the president authority to designate national monuments had been passed in 1906, and in 1916 Congress would create the National Park Service. Friends for Our Riverfront shares this commitment to conserve our irreplaceable natural public assets and "leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."