Overton Park - Hardcoverby William Bearden (Author) Overton Park in Memphis, Tennessee, is a gem in the midst of a sprawling Southern city. In 1900, as Memphis emerged from bankruptcy and yellow fever epidemics, the Progressive movement encouraged Memphians to rely on the government for a better quality of life. The Memphis Park Commission, chartered that year, purchased 342 acres of land at the eastern edge of the city. Landowner Overton Lea of Nashville earned $110,000