News Release
Date: January 20, 2021
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Contact: Henrietta Degroot
ATLANTA – Today, the National Park Service (NPS) announced the start of public comments on a study to evaluate the potential for the President James K. Polk Home in Tennessee to be included in the national park system.
The John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management and Recreation Act (Public Law 116-9) of 2019 directed the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study, assessing information gathered through historical research and public input about the James K. Polk Home and adjacent properties, including the Sisters’ House, kitchen outbuilding, gardens, garden cottage and the Polk Presidential Hall, all located on a single block in downtown Columbia.
The NPS will host a virtual public meeting on the James K. Polk Home Special Resource Study January 28 from 6 – 7 p.m. CST (7 – 8 p.m. EST). A link to join the virtual public meeting may be accessed via the project website: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/polksrs. In this virtual meeting, the NPS will share information about the special resource study process, including the criteria used to evaluate a site for inclusion in the national park system, and answer participants’ questions. Interested community members are encouraged to share their thoughts and ideas.
Comments and questions about the special resource study may also be submitted online via the project website, https://parkplanning.nps.gov/polksrs or by postal mail to:
National Park Service
Denver Service Center
Attn: Polk SRS
2795 West Alameda Parkway
PO Box 25287
Denver, CO 80225-0287
Public comments will be accepted until March 20, 2021.
The study findings – which will be reported to Congress through the U.S. Secretary of the Interior – will center on the site’s national significance, suitability, feasibility and need for direct NPS management. The special resource study is expected to run through 2023.
The President James K. Polk Home is the only surviving residence in which America’s 11th president lived besides the White House. After residing in Columbia from 1819 to 1824, Polk served in the Tennessee state legislature, the U. S. House of Representatives, as Governor of Tennessee and as the President of the United States from 1845 to 1849. The James K. Polk Home was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1961.
More information about the study can be found at: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/polksrs and through the visually engaging story map at https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/943f273c47b141b5bd0d64595acd889aw
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About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 423 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Last updated: January 21, 2021