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| The James K. Polk House in Columbia, Tennessee |
Although James K. Polk lived in several places in his lifetime, only his family home in Tennessee and, of course, the White House, remain. This month, we visited the former - the James K. Polk Home in Columbia. Built by Polk's father, Samuel, in 1816 while James was attending the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, the future 11th President of the United States lived there for only a short time. However, the museum showcases many of the belongings of both James and his wife, Sarah, including an impressive collection of their White House furniture and china.
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| Portraits of Sarah and James that resemble the gifter. |
The James K. Polk Home:
The house is handsome, but unpretentious - a two-story brick building with a detached kitchen (not an uncommon safety location of the time). The first floor has a parlor and dining room filled with White House gifts, dishes and family portraits. Of the latter, there is a rather amusing set of paintings of James and Sarah from Andrew Jackson. We learned that all such gifts from President Jackson tended to look more like the 7th president than the subjects themselves.
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| The master bedroom has a unique feature. |
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| Fireplace has an unusual location. |
Another quirky feature of the home resides in the primary bedroom on the second floor. Samuel Polk's building skills, prior to the home in Columbia, were limited to log cabins and other less complex structures. Not familiar with the requirement for fireplaces to have their own chimney, he routed the bedroom fireplace to share a flue with a first-floor fireplace. Once made aware of the error, Polk's father had to realign the primary bedroom's fireplace to its own chimney. The result it a very off-centered mantel that juts out awkwardly in the otherwise well-appointed room.
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| In the James K. Polk House kitchen, a separate building on the grounds. |
James K. Polk:
Polk, the oldest of ten children, was an excellent student, ambitious, disciplined and very serious. He found a complementary match with Sarah Childress, a well-educated young woman from a wealthy Tennessee family who, unlike James, was very gregarious and loved to entertain. They married in 1824 and the following year, James ran for, and was elected to, the U.S. House of Representatives.
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| The dining room, set out for a dinner party. |
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| Table is set with Polk family serving ware. |
Polk was a great supporter of Andrew Jackson (another Tennessean presidential home we visited in 2019, see blog story: Nashville, Part II, The Hermitage).
A divided Democratic party in 1844 produced the nomination of Polk, the "Dark Horse" candidate. He won the presidential election by a slim margin, but by his choice, Polk set to serve one term with an agenda to accomplish.
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| The Museum Room displays White House china. |
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| Vegetable dish used at the White House. |
James and Sarah planned to retire and reside at Polk Place, their home in Nashville. Sadly, James died shortly after leaving the White House at the age of 53.
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| The parlor on the first floor. Furnishings and other interior accents reflect Sarah's favorite color: red. |
Though the Polks had no children together, after James died, Sarah adopted a great niece, Sarah Polk Jetton Fall. It was Fall, and her daughter, Saidee Fall Grant, who helped preserve the Polk legacy. It was Grant who organized the James K. Polk Memorial Association, and once Polk Place had been demolished, the Association took part in purchasing the James K. Polk Home and filling it with the remarkable possessions of James and Sarah.
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| The James K. Polk House and Visitors Center, Columbia, Tennessee |
We truly enjoyed this visit to the James K. Polk House. While waiting for our tour guide - who was excellent - we were instructed to spend some time in the Visitor's Center Museum Room which provides a timeline of Polk's life as well as more personal belongings.
While there, we also picked up a few treasures in the neighboring gift shop, among them the book, "Provisions & Politics, Recipes Honoring First Lady Sarah Childress Polk".
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| A few items we bought at the Visitor Center's gift shop, including, "Provisions & Politics" recipe book. |
The hardcover cookbook, "Provisions and Politics" was first published by the James K. Polk Memorial Association in 2003, the 200th anniversary of Sarah Polk's birth. It's a collection of recipes from various sources to pay tribute to the First Lady. With their permission, I share "Claudia's Mint Tea".
Claudia's Mint Tea
- 10 tea bags, or 4 family-size tea bags
- 2/3 cup (scant) sugar
- 1 cup lemonade mix (not sugar free)
- 10 springs (or more) of fresh mint
- 1 quart boiling water
Combine the tea bags, sugar, lemonade mix and mint in a heatproof pitcher. Add the boiling water. Steep for 30 minutes. Strain the tea into a 1-gallon container. Add enough cold water to fill the container. Pour over ice in glasses. For variety, add one 6-ounce can of pineapple juice.
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