County of site: Polk County
Location of this waymark: 102 E Broadway, County Courthouse, Bolivar
Marker erected by: State Historical Society of Missouri & State Highway Commission
Date marker erected: 1959
The Person:
James K. Polk
Born: November 2, 1795, Pineville, NC
Died: June 15, 1849, Nashville, TN
Presidential term: March 4, 1845 – March 4, 1849
Party: Democratic Party
Education: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1816–1818)
Buried: Tennessee State Capitol, Nashville, TN
"Often referred to as the first "dark horse" President, James K. Polk was the last of the Jacksonians to sit in the White House, and the last strong President until the Civil War.
"He was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, in 1795. Studious and industrious, Polk was graduated with honors in 1818 from the University of North Carolina. As a young lawyer he entered politics, served in the Tennessee legislature, and became a friend of Andrew Jackson.
"In the House of Representatives, Polk was a chief lieutenant of Jackson in his Bank war. He served as Speaker between 1835 and 1839, leaving to become Governor of Tennessee.
"Until circumstances raised Polk's ambitions, he was a leading contender for the Democratic nomination for Vice President in 1844. Both Martin Van Buren, who had been expected to win the Democratic nomination for President, and Henry Clay, who was to be the Whig nominee, tried to take the expansionist issue out of the campaign by declaring themselves opposed to the annexation of Texas. Polk, however, publicly asserted that Texas should be "re-annexed" and all of Oregon "re-occupied."
"The aged Jackson, correctly sensing that the people favored expansion, urged the choice of a candidate committed to the Nation's "Manifest Destiny." This view prevailed at the Democratic Convention, where Polk was nominated on the ninth ballot.
""Who is James K. Polk?" Whigs jeered. Democrats replied Polk was the candidate who stood for expansion. He linked the Texas issue, popular in the South, with the Oregon question, attractive to the North. Polk also favored acquiring California.
"Even before he could take office, Congress passed a joint resolution offering annexation to Texas. In so doing they bequeathed Polk the possibility of war with Mexico, which soon severed diplomatic relations.
"In his stand on Oregon, the President seemed to be risking war with Great Britain also. The 1844 Democratic platform claimed the entire Oregon area, from the California boundary northward to a latitude of 54'40', the southern boundary of Russian Alaska. Extremists proclaimed "Fifty-four forty or fight," but Polk, aware of diplomatic realities, knew that no course short of war was likely to get all of Oregon. Happily, neither he nor the British wanted a war.
"He offered to settle by extending the Canadian boundary, along the 49th parallel, from the Rockies to the Pacific. When the British minister declined, Polk reasserted the American claim to the entire area. Finally, the British settled for the 49th parallel, except for the southern tip of Vancouver Island. The treaty was signed in 1846.
"Acquisition of California proved far more difficult. Polk sent an envoy to offer Mexico up to $20,000,000, plus settlement of damage claims owed to Americans, in return for California and the New Mexico country. Since no Mexican leader could cede half his country and still stay in power, Polk's envoy was not received. To bring pressure, Polk sent Gen. Zachary Taylor to the disputed area on the Rio Grande.
"To Mexican troops this was aggression, and they attacked Taylor's forces.
"Congress declared war and, despite much Northern opposition, supported the military operations. American forces won repeated victories and occupied Mexico City. Finally, in 1848, Mexico ceded New Mexico and California in return for $15,000,000 and American assumption of the damage claims.
"President Polk added a vast area to the United States, but its acquisition precipitated a bitter quarrel between the North and the South over expansion of slavery.
"Polk, leaving office with his health undermined from hard work, died in June 1849." ~ the White House Historical Association
The County:
Marker Erected by: State Historical Society of Missouri and State Highway Commission
Date Marker Erected: 1959
County of Marker: Polk County
Location of Marker: W. College St. & Springfield Ave. (Bus. MO-13), Neuhart Park, Bolivar
~ N 37° 36.405 W 093° 24.452
POLK COUNTY
In central southwest Missouri, where the Western Prairie and the Ozark Plateau meet, Polk County was organized 1835, and
named for Congressman, later U. S. President James K. Polk. The county lies in the 1808 Osage Indian cession and was roamed by Delaware and other tribes into period of settlement by Southern pioneers in the 1830's. An Indian flint quarry site and a number of mounds remain in the county.
Bolivar, the county seat, was laid out by William Jamieson, 1835. Largest town in U.S. named for South American liberator, it has been presented with handsome equestrian statue and two portraits of Simon Bolivar by Venezuelan Government. the statue is in Neuhart Park. Also in town is Dunnegan Memorial Park. Since 1879, Bolivar has been home of Southwest Baptist (Junior) College.
The Butterfield Overland Mail route ran through the county, 1858-61, and Bolivar was a meal and relay stop. Another relay station was near Brighton and the stage stopped in Brighton for a time when the telegraph reached there, 1859. The Frisco R.R. was built through the county in 1884.
In Polk County grain, livestock, poultry, and dairy area, are the Pomme de Terre (Potato) River, named by French trappers, and the Sac River named for Sac Indians of north Mo. In 1957, a dam was begun on the Pomme de Terre in adjacent Hickory County to form a flood control reservoir.
Humansville, the country's second town, was settled by James Human, 1834, who located near Paxton Spring, which has a measured flow of 445,000 gals. daily. In War Between the States, skirmishes occurred there Mar., 1862 and Oct., 1863. The county, divided in loyalty, was raided by guerrilla bands and Bolivar was occupied by troops of one side or the other during most of the war.
Morrisville, laid out in 1870, was home of Morrisville (Scarritt-Morrisville) Methodist College, opened in 1872. Other early schools were Polk Academy in 1840 and Dunnegan Springs Academy in 1895. Playwright, poet Zoe Akins was born in Humansville. Other noted Polk Countians include Clyde E. Tuck, poet; William H. Hamby, writer; Marion C. Early, writer, lawyer. Charles U. Becker, writer, Mo. Secretary of State, 1921-34, lived in Wishart.
Update to 1959 marker:
1. The statue of Bolivar is standing rather than on a horse.
2. Southwest Baptist College became an accredited four-year college in 1965. In 1981 the school changed its name to Southwest Baptist University.
3. Charles U. Becker served as Missouri Secretary of State from 1921 until 1933