PINEVILLE - Recall how frontier families marked Christmas in North Carolina’s backcountry during the early 1800s in a free public program slated Saturday, Dec. 13, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at the President James K. Polk State Historic Site in Pineville. This colorful event will feature historic buildings decorated in festive 19th century style and period-costumed interpreters who will transport visitors back to a typical, local Christmas celebration circa 1800.
Highlights will include period cooking demonstrations and a real Christmas bonfire. Through colorful and authentic vignettes, historical interpreters will evoke the ways people who lived around Charlotte in the early 19th century celebrated Christmas.
James Knox Polk, the eleventh president of the United States, was born in Mecklenburg County near present-day Pineville in 1795. He lived with his family for 11 years on this farm before moving to Tennessee in 1806.
After graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill, Polk entered politics and went on to be elected president of the United States on the Democratic ticket. He had an extraordinarily eventful term in office and was responsible for acquiring more territory for the U.S. than any other president since Thomas Jefferson. In four short years, the nation gained more than 800,000 square miles of western territory, extending its boundary to the Pacific Ocean. This land included present-day California, Texas, New Mexico and Oregon. A firm believer in equal rights for all, special privileges for none and friendship for the common people, President Polk ran an efficient administration and was known for his personal dedication and integrity.
The state historic site’s mission is to preserve and interpret the birthplace and history of Polk. It is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. from Nov. 1 through March 31 and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. through October. Located off exit 65, I-485, James K. Polk State Historic Site is at 12031 Lancaster Highway in Pineville. For further information on the holiday program, call Courtney Rounds at the site at (704) 889-7145, e-mail polk@ncmail.net or check out the Web site at www.polk.nchistoricsites.org.
Administered by the Division of State Historic Sites, President James K. Polk State Historic Site is part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, a state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina’s arts, history, and culture through such programs as “Telling Our Stories.” For more information, visit www.ncculture.com.