President James K. Polk Home and Museum

From the outside, the home of James Polk looks surprisingly ordinary and not so different from current houses in the neighbourhood. Upon entering the house, you enter a world of antique splendor suited for a former President. If you are at all like me, Polk is probably not one of the most familiar presidents, but the amazing staff and guides at the house and museum are more than happy to fill in the gaps in your Pool knowledge with kindness and interesting anecdotes. Be sure to allow an hour or two to see the house and grounds and get familiar with the Polk legacy (positive and negative) Scholastic Sinay says: After your trip down history lane, you might consider visiting the nearby Riverwalk Park for some outstanding views of the Duck River. Very nice views and some interesting plants and flowers along the walking path.

We thoroughly enjoyed our tour of the James K Polk home. We toured along with a family of three. Our tour guide was exceptionally knowledgeable and helpful. I am a US President Nerd! She described each artifact and its significance as she led us through the history journey. We peppered her with questions which she thoughtfully answered. The A/C kept us comfortable as the temp outside was above 100. Our tour guide kindly stayed after the tour concluded in order to chat with my husband and I. We loved the opportunity to talk about James K Polk with her. He has a compelling personal history as well as presidential significance.

We had a phenomenal experience visiting this site. Our tour guide, Gavin, seamlessly wove the story of President and Mrs. Polk into the broader context of what was going on in the United States during their lifespans. On top of that, he concisely answered any questions that we asked. I was thrilled with how informative the entire tour was. The home and grounds are beautifully maintained and enhance the historical immersion. I would recommend a visit to this quaint slice of American history to anyone looking for a fun afternoon.

What a great piece of preserved American history! The house is in great condition for its age. The many artifacts, some that were actually in the White House, are nicely preserved and displayed. You start in the sisters house watching a short film and move over to the parents' house next door. After that you move to the kitchen building and the garden before returning to the sisters' house for the museum room and gift shop. The gift shop offers some nice Polk themed keepsakes and small toys for the kiddos. Polk is an underappreciated President and figure in American history. Expanding our nation west and obtaining that territory was no simple task, especially in those days. One warning is that the website price lists "Children under 6" as free, HOWEVER they charge for children "5 and over" as listed on my receipt. So I was charged for my 5 year old but not the end of the world. All in, it was a great way to spend President's day!

While visiting the beautiful town of Columbia, I happened on a sign for the President James K. Polk Home and Museum. I visited after work and, while still open, I decided it probably wasn't enough time to take the full tour. But, there was a sign that I could walk around the beautiful back gardens and the exterior of the home for FREE! It really is a great home with a lot of history. There were plenty of historic markers to read about the home and the presidency of James K. Polk. I learned quite a lot just from walking around the exterior. There was a detached kitchen that was open where there was information about the cooks and other enslaved people who served the house. The entire experience was educational and worth the visit. I am hoping to return some day when I have more time so I can take the complete tour.

Very cozy museum with an excellent guided tour. There are just a few rooms, kitchen outside and a garden. Worth a stop, the tour is about 45 minutes.

The museum is a beautifully preserved home and it has plenty of interesting information about president Polk and his wife. Polk’s life and his presidency made him one of the most influential presidents in the history of the country. The visit was the most enjoyable mainly because of the very knowledgeable guide, Olivia. She told the story of the house and Polk’s legacy in a very easy to understand manner. It was fascinating. If you’re in the area, you need to stop by and visit this museum.

The tour guides themselves were the highlights of the tour. A wonderful married couple from the area. Polks house was nice but in need of some tlc. It's a shame this isn't part of the national park service. Learned some interesting facts about James and Sara Polk and inadvertently about Mules...

Visiting this James K Polk site is a must-do if you are a history nerd! There is plenty of free angle parking directly next to the home and a lot across the street. You start your visit at "Sister's House" (visitor center) which is around the corner on 7th street. Right now, for adults, for $14 you get a tour of the home and access to the gardens, kitchen (self-guided tour), museum room, and the exhibit in the Presidential Hall. This is totally worth the price!!! The tour alone is worth $14. There is a ~12 minute introductory visit offered in the visitor center, and they seem to just play it when enough people have congregated for a tour. The tours don't seem to be scheduled at particular times, so you'll have to be flexible when you arrive. You cannot purchase tickets in advance online. There is also a small reading-heavy exhibit room in the visitor center too, so plenty to occupy yourself. The home tour was awesome!! Our guide Cody was incredibly knowledgeable, and he was full of fun facts and energy. The tour lasted about 45 minutes, which is one of the longest presidential home tours I've been on, so definitely worth the price of admission! You can't take pictures inside too. Once the tour is over, you have access to the gardens and the self-guided tour of the kitchen. The Presidential Hall is located down the street on High St, and right now there is an art exhibit focused on slavery and civil rights leaders. Admission is currently included with the $14 ticket price, but I think that changes with the exhibit. The gardens are gorgeous! And don't forget to take a picture with the life-sized statues of James and Sarah Polk across 7th street! I would budget 2 hours to see everything. I highly recommend making this trip when you're in Nashville.

What an amazing adventure. We had one of the best tour guides I have ever experienced. She was most knowledgeable and personable. When you leave the home, you have full knowledge of President Polk, his family and his impact on America. Worth the time.

Gavin was the best tour guide! Truly a wealth of knowledge. Such a fantastic tour! Thank you!

Really experienced guide! Interesting to learn how important our 11th president was to our country!

Friends and I visited the Polk home and museum mid-week in downtown Columbia. It is an A+ personal/escorted tour. Made extra special by visiting mid-week. Tour guide was Dan, and he began with a video in the Visitors Center followed by Museum room, outdoor kitchen, and Polk Presidential Hall with rotating exhibits and presidential artifacts. Can do the tour in 1 hour; we stayed two hours. Then walked down the street for late lunch at Puckett's BBQ. James K Polk's wife Sarah Childress was, in effect, his chief of staff and essential to his success. Polk won the presidency running as a Democrat with a platform that reads like a modern-day Republican (low tariffs to raise revenue but not protect industry). Oddly, he failed to carry his own state of Tennessee. Polk was a protégé of the 7th President Andrew Jackson. Polk won the Democrat nomination as a compromise candidate. He was previously Tennessee governor, congressional House of Representative, Speak of the House, and TN state senate. By the end of the tour, I don't understand why the 11th president isn't more widely followed and respected for his territorial expansion and executive branch accomplishments in just 4 years. Tips: Open Daily. Check hours. Nominal fee. Potentially difficult for the physically disabled. Street and Visitor Center parking lot, both free.

James K. Polk was the 11th president of the United States (1845-1849). Polk's annexation of Texas led to the Mexican-American War, and the U.S. victory thereby led to the acquisition of large territories in the Southwest and along the Pacific coast, which led to the establishment of the Department of the Interior. The northern border of the United States was also established under Polk, as were the Naval Academy and the Smithsonian. Polk was not expected to run for president in 1844. Martin Van Buren wanted to be nominated for a 2nd term as president, but his stance against the annexation of Texas was unpopular with the Democratic Party. The delegates went through 9 ballots before compromising on Polk as their pick. In the general election, Polk ran against Whig candidate Henry Clay, who opposed the annexation of Texas. Both Clay and Polk ended up receiving 50% of the popular vote. However, Polk was able to get 170 out of 275 electoral votes. Once Polk became president, he negotiated with the British to set the boundary at the 49th parallel, which gave America the areas that would become Oregon, Idaho, and Washington. In April 1846, Mexican troops crossed the Rio Grande and killed 11 U.S. soldiers. This came as part of a revolt against the Mexican president, who was considering America's bid to buy California. By May 13, the U.S. had declared war on Mexico. Critics called it "Mr. Polk's War." The war was over by the end of 1847, with Mexico suing for peace. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo formally fixed the boundary between Texas and Mexico at the Rio Grande. In addition, the U.S. was able to acquire both California and Nevada. This was the greatest increase in U.S. land since Thomas Jefferson negotiated the Louisiana Purchase. America agreed to pay Mexico $15 million for the territories. During his campaign, Polk promised to only serve 1 term as president. He kept that promise and did not seek re-election in 1848. In 1849, Polk died at the age of 53, only 3 months after his retirement from office. His death was probably due to cholera.

This is a nice place to visit to pick up some American/Tennessee history. The staff are nice and knowledgeable about history of President James Polk. The houses have many of his or his wife's original possessions and the tour is well organized. It's just a great place to visit and you can get a veteran's discount on the tickets or a AAA discount. Even without the discount, this is a place well worth visiting.

Educational & we'll organized, many interesting facts I recommend visitors go to our little Polk museum

A nice place to visit if you're interested in historical places. Not too long of a tour and plenty to see.

This was much more interesting than I thought it would be. Sure, it's small but we learned some things we had not known before. The docent let us take our time to read and see things and was able to answer questions as they came up. The hall was still not open but the price didn't change. In total it took us almost 2 hours to see the home and artifacts.

Have a lot to learn on US presidents' lives. Mallory, our guide, is so knowledgeable in US history specially on the life of this president. Will continue to visit Presidential museums/libraries.

Full historical experience, very knowledgeable staff and beautiful estate with lots to explore.

We had an amazing time! Our tour guide, Cody was very knowledgeable and passionate - he said our tour ran long but we enjoyed every moment. We spent about an hour and a half in the tour/display area/intro video. We did not have time in our schedule to explore other sites on the property (like the exhibit about the Mexican American War).

Wasn't far from this little town on vacation and decided to take a look at this small museum. Very interesting and some of the stories told we're kind of funny. The staff was extremely nice and engaging through the tour. The guided tour is about an hour/hour and a half and would highly recommend for the price.

Full disclosure: I'm a nerd who was a history major in college. If you live anywhere near Columbia or you're passing through, you should stop at the James K. Polk Ancestral Home. As the only home the 11th President of the United States lived in that is still standing (with the exception of the White House), the tour of this property is chock-full with interesting history and items owned by the Polks (many from their time in the White House or from Polk Place, the residence of President Polk for the three months he was alive after leaving the presidency). The tour guides at this home/museum are great! My tour guide was Zach, and he was really kind as I asked a lot of questions. Included in the ticket for admission is a video (about 10 minutes long) about Polk's life, a small room ("museum") that tells the story of Polk's life in text and images, and a guided tour of the house. The grounds are open to anyone for free. And there is also the Presidential Hall, a room in a nearby church that was bought by the home/museum to host exhibitions. It's an additional $2 to tour the hall and see the exhibit as well. (When I was there in March 2018, the exhibit was on Polk's cabinet and was very interesting.) There is also a small gift shop with books, t-shirts, items for kids, etc. If you're at all interested in history, I highly recommend that you check out the James K. Polk Ancestral Home. President Polk, while an important and interesting president, is not much remembered or discussed, and touring a home that he lived in before becoming president was a fascinating experience. I was there a week ago, and I've been telling friends and family (we live in Nashville, a short and quite nice drive on a weekend day) that they have to go!

Super impressed with this presidential home and tour! First, I have to admit that I knew next to nothing about President James K. Polk. So, I was simply looking to learn something about the man. But this home and tour blew away my expectations. The home itself is a treasure trove of Polk furniture and artifacts. It is rare that you see this many actual items owned by the actual President. Oftentimes, you hear, "They would have owned something similar." Not here. Almost all of the items came directly from the President himself or his wife, Sarah. I was shocked. The tour guide...wow. He was maybe the most knowledgeable Presidential tour guide I've ever been with. I asked a lot of questions, since, as I mentioned above, I didn't know anything about the President. But I also asked historical questions that were loosely related to the President, and this guy didn't flinch. He was all over those questions. He was cranking out dates and facts as if he'd actually been there to see it. And the prices weren't too bad. You get a $2 price cut for being a AAA member, which brought the ticket price down to $8. That was a steal for what I got out of it.

Honestly, a MUST-VISIT for anyone who is even marginally interested in U.S. history. My parents recently moved to Columbia, TN, and I was shocked to learn that this town I had never heard of lays claim to a former U.S. President. I had to find out more! I sure am glad I did! I learned SO much about not only the 11th President of the United States, but about Andrew Jackson, John C. Fremont, and other historical figures I had heard of but knew nothing about. My husband and I are avid museum-goers and tour junkies, and even we were blown away by how much our tour guide, Benjamin, knew about EVERYTHING touching Polk's life and era. He was infinitely patient in answering our barrage of questions as he unleashed fascinating story after story. We left the tour with a bag full of biographies and that satisfied feeling of time well-spent. We have since recommended this tour to anyone who will listen :) Even if you're only passing through Columbia, take an hour and stop by this place--you'll be glad you did!

Interesting place. Their website doesn't mention wheelchair access but the visitor center is accessible via a brick pathway. The pathway needs some attention to make it easier to use. The rose bushes need pruning as they are growing into the walkway. The Polk residence is semi accessible ; there is a step (approximately 4 inch) getting in without a ramp. The video provided a good overview and the tour guide talked about some interesting topics. Small museum collection is interesting. Nice accessible bathrooms adjacent to visitor center. Glad we went.

I took my homeschooled daughter here for the experience and we both enjoyed it. I had been years ago and I was glad to see it was still informative and fun. Our tour guide Mallory was incredibly well versed in the history of the Polks and the house itself.

Docent was very knowledgeable and the home was well.maintained. short tour. Only two rooms to viee

A jewel of a museum. Excellently curated. Polk, our eleventh president, was indeed an interesting man, and the era he lived in...equally so. Docent/guide, Debbie, is superb!

Great informative tour. Phyllis did an excellent job. History buffs will enjoy and learn a lot they didn't know!!

It is pretty small but it is not very expensive. Very interesting history on a president that not many know about. Our tour guide was Benjamin super knowledgeable and made the tour a real delight. We made sure to visit a second time (and will go again!) when we were in Nashville.

If you love history you're going to love touring the James K. Polk home and Museum. Tweaks your interest in the early days of adventurous happenings of the people who made the country prosper.

History is fun, don't you think? Learning about it through lecture and textbooks when you went to high school and college, but return to rediscover it and love it as an adult. Traveling to see living history and putting 1 and 1 together does just that. I saw the signage for the President James K Polk boyhood home actually on the interstate I-65 south heading back to Huntsville, AL, heading from a nice day of driving from Nashville and sightseeing. It was nice to see the sign along the interstate and it gave me an excuse to take a break and check things out. While this home isn't by any means his home in President James Polk's adult life, it's a piece of Americana that is always treasured by anyone and everyone who has interests in discovering and rediscovering history at any age. I arrived here late in the day and thankfully, they were about to close in half hour, so I got in just in time. They told me no photographs inside the building, so I just took pics of the outside grounds. It's kind of amazing how the town grew up around the home. The overall experience here was really good and very educational. I think I should do these kind of tourist attractions more and appreciate where we've come from as a nation. From a new nation to humble beginnings, war and division, to uniting as a formidable nation, to what we have in the modern 21st century. The 2 centuries thereafter have been kind to this house and the dedicated people who help keep this place in tip top shape are awesome! I ultimately chose to do the self guided tour, considering the time constraints. I tried to cover basically everything in 45 minutes, which was generous of them. I actually had cash on me, since i went to the ATM for fear of tolls and needed cash. Lol The guided tour lasts about 45 minutes to an hour on average, so a brief half hour to see everything was decently enough for me. 30 minutes really did cover most things and I was satisfied about that. While you see most things regarding his childhood, most of his presidential stuff is housed elsewhere, as you may imagine. Still, it was a house as you know. Many of the things you'd find at your own homes are relevant here, just much of the modern conveniences are scaled down into basic rudimentary contraptions in the early days of invention and ideas. The parking here is very limited, although there is spaces for the museum on the street. I was lucky to find them on a casual weekday afternoon just before rush hour in Columbia, TN. But then again, is there really rush hour here? The rest of the complex is quite beautiful, with his sister's home, the kitchen, and the surrounding gardens. For the most part, gravitating towards coming here is an interesting proposition. It's definitely a tourist attraction, but like ghost tours and others, you'd want to come here and appreciate what is here at the President James K Polk ancestral home. Kind of wished that I did get here earlier and get the full treatment of $10 for the guided tour, but what can you do when driving a long distance can eat up a lot of time on the interstate. Ugh. Oh well. For what it's worth, I'd recommend coming here if you are in the area and are into US presidents and presidential history. While this isn't necessarily tied to his presidency, you can see how his upbringing is tied to his demeanor and charm to be president of the United States in the mid 1840's. 4.5 stars! I'd go back if my travels permit me to and do the guided tour. Till then, it was well worth it. Support local! B+

Great place to go to get some history it's a great way to spend your day not too expensive it's not something you wanna do every day but maybe once every few years did you change it up a little bit every once in a while

We visited Columbia on a day trip and stopped here for a tour. The tour begins with a well done video on President Polk. Then you can go through the small museum they have in their visitors center. It has some great artifacts that relate to Polk. My favorite was the cast of Tom Thumbs foot. After that a guide will take you on a tour of the home. The home has some wonderful portraits by Healy and Sully, prominent portrait artists in the South. It also showcases some furnishings from when the Polks were in the White House. After the tour, you can walk the garden and see the detached kitchen. It's a really great tour and house, very informative and accurate. I really recommend coming here!

I'm a history buff but this tour sadly didn't peak my interest. The home and furnishings were beautiful but the docent's talk seemed long on details of Polk's role as president, wars and land acquisitions and just didn't fill the bill for me. It was almost like reading a chapter from my 8th grade history book. Maybe this says more about me than it does the docent.

I'm so glad we went here. The docents are very engaging and informative. There are so many neat artifacts from the Polk family and info about them and their way of life. Highly recommended!

Small museum but very well done. I learned a lot about Polk thanks to well done displays and very informed staff. The docents were what I found most impressive. The fellow leading my tour gave details and context that I had not heard. And he was very patient with questions. Worth the visit.

Zach was our tour guide, and he was everything you would want in a guide. He gave you the general story and the more questions you asked the more you realize that he was a true expert in his field. Super interesting and not rushed. Made the subject matter come to life and not just the subject but the whole time period. Knew the Polk family inside and out. Wonderful

Took a tour of this wonderful home where James K. Polk lived as a young man. Our tour guide, Helen, was one of the best, if not the best, tour guide we have ever had. She was extremely knowledgeable about the home and had a wonderful sense of humor! Her stores were informative, interesting and delivered with a great sense of humor. There is a small museum with many interesting items that actually belonged to President Polk.