The Murfreesboro Post, March 11, 2013
In celebration of Women’s History Month, The Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County will present “Sarah Childress Polk: First Lady of Style.”
The featured speaker is Tom Price, curator of the James K. Polk Ancestral Home in Columbia, Tennessee. The free community heritage lecture will take place at noon Wednesday, March 13.
The public is invited to bring their lunch while enjoying a discussion about a Rutherford County-born girl who became one of the most significant First Ladies in United States history.
Sarah Childress Polk married lawyer James K. Polk, a member of the Tennessee General Assembly, when Murfreesboro was the state capitol.
Known for her intelligence, political acumen and dignity, Sarah Polk assisted her husband throughout his career and strengthened the role of first lady while she was at the White House from 1845 through 1849.
Attendees can also view the gallery exhibit entitled “From the Nation’s Capital to Neighborhood Classrooms: Rutherford County Women, Past and Present” and obtain the brochure “In the Footsteps of Notable Women: A Self-Guided Tour of Rutherford County.”
The James K. Polk Ancestral Home is the only remaining residence of James K. Polk except the White House.
The home, built in the early 1800s, was constructed by his father, Samuel Polk, and is one of the best examples of federal style architecture remaining in Tennessee. Today, it houses more than 1,000 objects that belonged to the Polks, including furniture, paintings, china and silver.
For more information about the site and its ongoing exhibit “Sarah Childress Polk: First Lady of Style,” visit www.jameskpolk.com.