Polk Place/ Grundy Place was built around 1819 by Felix Grundy (1777-1840) and Anne Phillips Rogers Grundy (1779-1847) on Vine St. (now 211 7th Ave. N.) in downtown Nashville – on a block bounded by Union, Church, Vine and Spruce Streets.
They married in 1797. The home was built in Palladian style. Felix Grundy was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky and then from Tennessee. He practiced law in Nashville where he was very involved in government. He served as Attorney General under President Martin Van Buren and was a close friend of Pres. James "Jimmy" Knox Polk. Felix's sister-in-law was Sarah Doughtery Rodgers McGavock of Carnton. A niece was Elizabeth Harding of Belle Meade Plantation. The Grundy family also lived at Troudale=Baskerville Home for a time. Grundy grandson Felix Grundy Ewing and Jane W. Ewing owned Glenraven
After Grundy’s death, Polk (1795-1849) and his wife Sarah Childress Polk (1803-1891) bought the property while still in Washington, DC. They married in 1824. Polk had a successful political career: was elected Governor of Tennessee in 1824, served in the Tennessee legislature in 1832, then the U.S. House of Representatives in 1834 (Speaker in 1835). In 1844, he was elected the Democratic President of the U.S. and served one term. He was called “the Napoleon of the stump.” The home was still two weeks from being remodeled into Greek Revival style when the Polks returned to Tennessee so they went to Columbia, TN to his childhood home.
After remodeling was completed, the Polks moved in. James became ill from cholera and died - after living in this home for 30 days. Sarah remained in the house 42 years until her death in 1891. For years, she was a recluse.
In the early 1850s, Sarah took in her great-niece, Sarah “Sallie” Polk Jetton Fall, and afterward, the widow began socializing and entertaining once again. Sallie's mother had died shortly after her birth from complications. Sallie married George Willliam Fall in 1865, and the couple moved into Polk Place until the birth of their first child in 1886. Then they moved to their own home. After Sarah’s death, there was a long dispute about the wills of both Pres. Polk and Sarah. In the end, the Tennessee Supreme Court finally ordered the Polk family to sell the home and split the money evenly. Sallie helped create the James K. Polk Memorial Association. In 1929, she also helped to preserve the Polk Home in Columbia since it was the only remaining home of Polk.
Tasker Polk, the president’s nephew, sold Polk Place to Jacob M. Dickinson, a relative, who owned Travelers Rest. He sold the downtown property to a developer. In 1901, the home was razed and Polk Flat apartments erected. In 1909, the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) bought the property and built a new facility there. In 1978, the YWCA sold the property and moved to Woodmont Blvd. Now, the Capitol Hotel operates on the site. See Glenraven, Trousdale-Baskerville/ Maywood, Carnton, Belle Meade Plantation, Travelers Rest
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