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Charlotte: |
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Thomas Polk and his house
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When Cornwallis and his army marched into Charlotte, they lost no time taking over the only residence built of finished lumber instead of logs. It made a suitable headquarters for the Crown and offered a measure of victory for Britain, since it was situated a few feet from the courthouse where Brother Thomas Polk first read the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence to the people of Charlotte May 20, 1775. Indeed, the new headquarters building was Polk’s own home.
Two rare photographs shown here were taken long after the Revolution. The first, with animals transporting wood, shows the Polk home at the far right. The second, showing the same building, reveals it had become a cigar factory. Finally, in 1880, a man named George Hall bought the building, moved it to his nearby farm—and turned it into a cattle barn. Until then the building, and its Polk owners, were always on the square.
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Produced by the public relations committee of the Grand Lodge AF&AM of Masons in North Carolina,
2921 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27628 MMVIII
Author/editor: Walter J. Klein wklein(at)carolina.rr.com
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