Polk Place was built by General Thomas G. Polk (1791-1869) in 1849. The house was built on the spot of a previous log house built by Reverend C. A. Foster in 1839. General Polk was born in North Carolina, the son of a prominent political family which included his half-brother General Leonidas Polk, the “Fighting Bishop of the Confederacy” and his second cousin, President James K. Polk. Polk and his family moved to Holly Springs in 1840, and built this Greek Revival house in 1849.
The Polk family owned the house for nearly 60 years, until General Polk’s children sold the house to Stephen W. Mullins (1854-1940) in 1908. In the early 1900s, the house was restored, along with Walter Place and Featherston Place next door, by noted St. Louis architect Theodore Link, as part of the larger Johnson Park project. In 1919, Polk Place was purchased by J. C. Tucker (1895-1966). The Tucker family lived here for 50 years, and renamed the house “Tuckahoe”. In 1969, the house was bought by Clark Cochran (1924-2007) and his wife Harriet Cochran (1927-2013). In 1983, the home was bought be Collier and Vicki Carlton. In 2000, Michael and Jorja Lynn bought Polk Place and united the house with Johnson Park and Featherston Place next door. As of 2017, the house is owned by Regions Bank and is for sale.
Polk Place is a one-and-a-half-story raised basement Greek Revival house, with a single-bay entrance portico supported by Tuscan columns. On the same east facade of the house is a gorgeous and unique two-bay gable front porch with a Palladian arch opening, which was added by architect Theodore Link in the early 1900s. The front entrance is surrounded by sidelights an an elliptical fan window.
Hill Country History 