Dr. Thomas Walker State Historic Site marks the area where the physician originally from what state settled?
Thomas Walker (explorer) Thomas Walker (January 25, 1715 – November 9, 1794) was a distinguished physician and explorer from Virginia; in the mid-18th century, he was part of an expedition to the region beyond the Allegheny Mountains and the unsettled area of British North America. Walker and fellow Virginian, Indian agent, explorer for Patrick Henry, legislator of three states, surveyor of KY/VA & TN/NC borders, and later Revolutionary war general, Joseph Martin, were some of the first colonialists to travel in this area. Martin's son, Revolutionary War officer Col. William Martin, describes the naming of the area and river in a letter to historian Lyman Draper,
Joseph Edison Walker Joseph Edison Walker (March 31, 1879 – July 28, 1958) was a leading African American physician, businessman and religious leader. After graduating from college and medical school, he practiced as a doctor in Mississippi, where he was born and reared. He also became president of a bank and an insurance company serving blacks. In 1920 he moved with his family to Memphis, Tennessee for more opportunities.