Bob and I headed to Pineville, North Carolina, today to visit the birth place (kind of) of James K. Polk, our nation’s 11th President. Pineville is about 60 miles from Boiling Springs and just southwest of Charlotte. We had reserved tickets for the 30 minute tour of the two cabins located on the property.
The historic site is located on the actual property once owned by Sam Polk, James’ father, and where the first 5 (including James) of the eventual 10 Polk children were born. Since the family moved to Tennessee when James was 11 and no one knew he would be president, the actual buildings on the property were not maintained. The cabins that are there were recreated with logs taken from buildings of that time period and recreated in the style of the Polk buildings based on descriptions that exist.
and the kitchen (on right with chimney)
by the 2 room structure and presence of glass windows.
The house would have been set up on stones as it is here to help keep out bugs and allow for space for the chickens to roost. Children were sent underneath the house daily to collect the eggs. The logs were held in place by chinking, the red clay from the nearby river. The chinking would wear away, however, and another chore for the children would be to go to the river to collect more clay and then rechink the house.
In addition to the cabins, the site contains a museum (free of charge) with exhibits and an informative 15 minute film. We learned a lot about a president of whom we had known very little, even though Texas, Iowa, and Wisconsin, all became states during his one term administration.
Polk was born on 11/2/1795 and moved with his family to Tennessee in 1806. He graduated at the head of his class from the University of North Carolina in 1818 and married Sarah Childress in 1824. He was elected to the US House of Representatives from Tennessee in 1825 and was Speaker of the House from 1835-1839, when he resigned to become Governor of Tennessee. He served one term as Governor, 1839-1844. He was a surprise nominee for President as the Democrats didn’t want Van Buren who was opposed to the annexation of Texas. He served as President from 1845-1849 and died a few short months after leaving office. He remains the only person to have served as both Speaker of the House and President.
Andrew Jackson was a mentor to Polk, and they both were strong supporters of the Manifest Destiny doctrine. Thus, Polk’s support of the annexation of Texas and his war with Mexico to claim more territory for the US. He was a slave owner, and one of his slaves moved to the White House with the Polks as their personal valet.
Peckish Travels 