POLK HOME NEWS

Adopt an Artifact
The public is offered an exciting opportunity to help preserve some of America's most important artifacts - by adopting them! President and Mrs. Polk's clothing, clothing accessories, and textile-related political memoribilia are up for adoption. For a donation toward the conservation of these important artifacts, the adopter will receive a personalized certificate that features an image of the artifact and gives its history. The donor will also be acknowledged in the Polk Home's newsletter. Objects that are currently up for adoption include:

Sarah Polk's Inaugural Gown.......................................................................................................................$4,525
Sarah Polk's green velvet day gown ca. 1830-1840......................................................................................$3,625
President Polk's Inaugural Speech as Governor of Tennessee printed on satin........................................$597
Mrs. Polk's black lace gloves (worn by her during her forty-two year widowhood)...................................$233
Collar and Cuffs worn by Sarah Polk..........................................................................................................$665
Silk turban worn by Sarah Polk...................................................................................................................$339
Embroidered christening dress made by Sarah Polk while First Lady......................................................$2,775
Black lace mantilla worn by Sarah Polk.....................................................................................................$1,218
Red velvet headdress worn by Sarah Polk...................................................................................................$489
Floral emboidered shawl worn by Sarah Polk............................................................................................$1,733
Black lace mitts worn by Sarah Polk in widowhood..................................................................................$783
Memorial handbill to James K. Polk printed on silk..................................................................................$645
Veil possibly worn by Sarah Childress Polk on her wedding day..............................................................$2,033
Black lace mantilla worn by Sarah Polk in widowhood............................................................................$1,668
Black cape worn by Sarah Polk...................................................................................................................$1,818
Silk bodice worn by Sarah Polk..................................................................................................................$2,025

Sarah Polk's 200th Birthday Celebration

September 4, 2003 marks the 200th birthday of First Lady Sarah Childress Polk. To celebrate the occasion, the Polk Home will be hosting lectures, special programs, and exhibits focussing on this remarkable woman.

April 24th - Author/Historian Carl Sferrazza Anthony will present a program on Sarah Polk and the job of First Lady. Mr. Anthony is a nationally acclaimed author of numerous books on the First Ladies including the two volume First Ladies: The Saga of the President's Wives and their Power, and America's First Families: An Inside View of 200 Years of Private Live in the White House.

September 4th - A music performance program centered on a music book written in Sarah Polk's own hand while a teenage student at Salem Academy. This remarkable book features popular music of the first quarter of the 19th century including the song "Hail to the Chief," clearly a favorite of Sarah's from childhood. She would begin the use of the song as the "official" presidential anthem while First Lady, nearly 30 years later. The Polk Home along with Middle Tennessee State University's Center for Popular Music and the Center for Historic Preservation will sponsor the program on her birthday.

Provisions and Politics Cookbook
To commemorate the 200th birthday of Sarah Polk, the James K. Polk Memorial Association has compiled a cookbook called Provisions and Politics. The 192-page hardback cookbook combines wonderful recipes and inspirational menus with historical vignettes about one of America's most fascinating First Ladies, Sarah Polk. The cookbook will be released in the September 4, 2003, just in time for Sarah's birthday. The price for the cookbook is $25.95. Reserve your copy today by calling the Polk Home at 931-388-2354, email, or by writing the Polk Home at P.O. Box 741, Columbia, TN 38402.