County of marker: Polk County
Location of site: Prior St & Main St., courthouse, Cedartown
The Person:
"James K. Polk, in full James Knox Polk, (born November 2, 1795, Mecklenburg county, North Carolina, U.S.—died June 15, 1849, Nashville, Tennessee), 11th president of the United States (1845–49). Under his leadership the United States fought the Mexican War (1846–48) and acquired vast territories along the Pacific coast and in the Southwest. (For a discussion of the history and nature of the presidency, see presidency of the United States of America.)
"Polk was the eldest child of Samuel and Jane Knox Polk. At age 11 he moved with his family to Tennessee, where his father operated a prosperous farm in Maury county. Although ill health during his childhood made formal schooling impossible, Polk successfully passed, at age 20, the entrance requirements for the second-year class at the University of North Carolina. He was “correct, punctual, and industrious,” and as a graduating senior in 1818 he was the Latin salutatorian of his class—a preeminent scholar in both the classics and mathematics.
"After graduation he returned to Tennessee and began to practice law in Nashville. His interest in politics, which had fascinated him even as a young boy, was encouraged by his association with leading public figures in the state. In 1820 he was admitted to the bar. Because he was a confirmed Democrat and an unfailing supporter of Andrew Jackson and because his style of political oratory became so popular that he was characterized as the “Napoleon of the stump,” his political career was assured.
"His rapid rise to political power was furthered by his wife, Sarah Childress Polk (1803–91), whom he married January 1, 1824, while serving in the state House of Representatives (1823–25). She proved to be the most politically dominant president’s wife since Abigail Adams. The social prominence of Sarah Polk’s family (her father, Joel Childress, was a planter) and her personal charm and bearing, which was sometimes described as queenly, were distinct assets for a politically ambitious lawyer. A high-spirited woman, she and her sister had traveled 500 miles on horseback in their determination to attend one of the best schools in the South, the Moravian Female Academy in Salem, North Carolina. Because she disdained housekeeping and the marriage was childless, she was freed of most domestic chores to participate in the public life of her husband. She monitored his health assiduously, and, as his hostess, she won the admiration and esteem of the leading figures of the day. Among those who became her friends, and therefore helpful to her husband, were President Jackson, future president Franklin Pierce, Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story, and Floride Calhoun, the wife of John C. Calhoun, the powerful senator of South Carolina. Year after year she was her husband’s closest companion and his eyes and ears in state and national politics. When her husband became president, she was often referred to as “the Presidentress.” Her stern Presbyterianism persuaded her to eschew dancing, the theatre, and horse racing, and in the President’s House she forbade music on Sundays. Although a stickler for tradition, she oversaw the installation of the first gaslights in the White House." ~ Encyclopedia Britannica
The County:
"Polk County is a county located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,475. The county seat is Cedartown. The county was created on December 20, 1851 by an act of the Georgia General Assembly and named after James K. Polk, the eleventh President of the United States.
"Polk County comprises the Cedartown, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, GA Combined Statistical Area.
"According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 312 square miles (810 km2), of which 310 square miles (800 km2) is land and 1.8 square miles (4.7 km2) (0.6%) is water.
"Most of eastern Polk County, centered on Rockmart, is located in the Etowah River sub-basin of the ACT River Basin (Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin), while most of western Polk County, centered on Cedartown, is located in the Upper Coosa River sub-basin of the same ACT River Basin. Small slivers of the southern edges of the county are located in the Upper Tallapoosa River sub-basin of the same larger ACT River Basin." ~ Wikipedia
"Created December 20, 1851 and named for President James Knox Polk, Cedartown is fittingly named for the trees which flourish in this beautiful valley. The city is a railroad center, has a thriving textile industry, and a large paper mill.
"Rockmart, thirteen miles to the east, has textile mills that give the area much employment and a large payroll, and as well is the center of portland cement production." ~ Gerogia Historical Commission, 1953