Created By: The Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County
Rutherford County was the birthplace of one of the most significant First Ladies in United States history. Sarah Childress Polk (1803-1891) married lawyer James K. Polk, a member of the General Assembly, when Murfreesboro was the capital of Tennessee. Known for her intelligence, political acumen, and dignity, Sarah Polk assisted her husband throughout his career. At the White House from 1845 to 1849, she strengthened the role of First Lady. The Childress House (1847) belonged to her younger brother, John Childress, and she visited here from Nashville in the 1870s and 1880s. Preservationist and owner Alice Newsom Ray has kept the house a local treasure.
This point of interest is part of the tour: In the Footsteps of Notable Women
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