james k. polk house

This is the seventh Presidential home I have visited and is very impressive. The short video and tour by a very informative docent was exceptional. Polk is not one of our more talked about presidents, but his presidency was very important to the growth of our country. He was a very hard working president, taking only 27 days vacation in four years, and often sleeping in his office. The majority of the furnishings are original to one of the homes he lived in and are quite exquisite. This house was owned by his father who also owned large farms. This is a home worth visiting to see how one of our lesser known presidents lived.

I've visited several times and always enjoy seeing this historical house and the furnishings that belonged to President Polk. Not very big but worth visiting.

So I decided to drive over to Columbia to see the Polk House on a whim, I am very pleased I did. I love seeing Presidential sites, so this was a perfect spot. The tour guide was very informed, and answered all of my questions very well. I was the only one on the tour so I got to take my time and learn a lot more than I would have in a group tour. I would highly recommend stopping in if you are near Columbia and enjoy history.

Tour was very informative. Home was a little difficult to locate and parking was limited. Home is located in town and has a small yard.

Other than the White House, this is the only surviving building which President Polk called home. Our docent was very informative and the home was impressive given the timeframe. We have visited many presidential sites and do find few privately or state maintained sites come up to the National Park Service standard.

really enjoy our visit to the Polk home. there is a short video at the beginning. there is two homes, one the sister's home, but not much to tour. this is the location of the video and the gift shop. the actual home is next door. there isn't much to the home, but there is still so much to see. I opted for the museum and special exhibit. The special exhibit was about photography during the presidency. we spent less than 10 minutes there. There is a garden behind the house. worth walking through. Not well maintained, but I can imagine the garden looking similar in its original state. The kitchen is behind the main residence and is self guided. overall, great tour, great guide. i'm glad we visited

Toured the Polk house and all the other exhibits and found it to be very interesting. They share a great deal of history with the tour. Would definitely recommend this to friends and any out of town guests.

This is a very neat a well preserved piece of presidential history. The grounds are well maintained and the staff are very knowledgable about James K Polk.

The building is a beautiful reminder of times past. It is nice to know a former president was a native of my new home of Columbia, TN.

We enjoyed looking at the "FIRST LIST" during his presidency, so many interesting things.The main house is the only surviving residence of Pres. James Polk, other than the White House. Built in 1816 by his father Samuel. While James was attending the University of N.C. When he graduated in 1818 he returned to Tennessee and stayed here with his parents until his marriage to Sarah in 1824. Lots of original possessions of President and Mrs. Polk, furniture, paintings, clothing, White house china. Before your docent led tour of the main house - you will start your visit from the Sisters house which now serves as the visitor center. There is a orientation video.The Sisters house is adjacent to main house. The Gardens feature objects from the gounds of Polks final home in downtown Nashville that was torn down in 1901. The Polk Presidential Hall exhibition facility, hosts original and traveling exhibits that relate to the U.S. Presidency and American society and culture during James Polks lifetime. You can call ahead to find out what exhibits will be there. Unfortunately - they were in the process of changing when we visited.You can purchase a ticket to tour the main house, kitchen and grounds for $8.00.Or a $10.00 combination ticket that includes the Polk Presidential exhibit Hall. James Polk kept his campaign promise to serve just one term and did not seek reelection in 1848. He left office and returned to Tennessee in March 1849.

It has been a week ago today that my wife an di decided to get off I-65 and take a side trip to the Polk home. Very well maintained and tour guide was knowledgeable and friendly, Downtown Columbia presents a quaint active small town with considerable charm. Many original articles of furniture owned by the Polks. Many will be surprised at how important the Polk administration was in our country's "manifest destiny".

Excellent tour of a relatively small house. 4 rooms upstairs /. 4 down. It does however have quite a few unique items that can be seen elsewhere. I very cozy tour, excellent guide, and if you can get the ear of the curator that has been there for 18 years you can get an insight from a true expert. The onsite museum while small, give an excellent overview of Polk's legacy. All in all, spent a good 2 hours on the grounds and was glad we made the trip to learn more about. Everyone there was extremely friendly and was patient as I asked every question under the sun!

Visiting the Polk home was very interesting. I had 5 children with me ages 7 to 14 and we all had a great time. Our guide, Barbara was wonderful and very knowledgeable.

I visited the President James K. Polk Home & Museum on Monday morning, July 7, 2014. The tour guide was highly knowledgeable, genuine, enthusiastic and friendly and he provided a thorough explanation of the history of President Polk and of the home and items we saw during the tour. The tour guide was outstanding, as was the museum and the home itself. The home was filled with beautiful furniture and items that were used by President Polk and The First Lady before his presidency, and some that were actually used while they lived in the White House. The experience was far superior to the one we had at The Hermitage, Andrew Jackson's home near Nashville the day before. You'll get straightforward history and presentation of facts, not conjecture - and not the revisionist, naive, out of context and politically biased nonsense they forced upon us at The Hermitage at every turn. The James K. Polk home is a fitting tribute to an incredible president, and well worth the visit. As much as I appreciate President Jackson, I have to say, skip the Hermitage in Nashville and visit The James K. Polk Home & Museum in Columbia, a short drive away, for authentic history in a beautiful small town filled with lovely stores, restaurants and a charming public square.

James K. Polk is not the most widely known of the American Presidents, but served during a monumental period in the nation's history. His ancestral home is located in Columbia, Tennessee (about 50 miles south of Nashville). It is well worth an hour to 90 minutes to visit if you are in the middle Tennessee area. The Polk home is just two blocks up from the city square in Columbia. It was the home that President Polk lived in before he married and started his political career. It is the only surviving building in the USA that is directly associated with Polk or his family. The tour of the house is quite informative. It starts with a brief film about Polk's life and times. From there, the tour is docent led. I found our docent to be very knowledgeable and genuinely excited about President Polk's life and legacy in Tennessee. The house contain a good number of artifacts from the Polk family, which offer an interesting insight to life in the early 19th Century. There is also a small museum, gift shop and library. The Polk house is easy to find. It is only about 15 minutes west from I-65. The tour is not expensive and is certainly appropriate fro the entire family. Photography is permitted. Well worth a visit.