YWCA and Polk Place

Part I. YWCA 

By the end of the nineteenth century, Nashville was a thriving commercial center that offered job opportunities for young women, many who came from rural areas to earn money to send home to their families on the farm. In 1898, a group of women representing several Nashville churches, opened a local branch of the Young Women's Christian Association, to provide a residence for these young white women as well as a place where they could lunch and socialize. The response to the YWCA was so successful that within a few years, the board expanded its work. After a massive fundraising campaign, they broke for the building that you see here in 1909. It opened its door two years later, with space for 120 residents, a gymnasium, and indoor pool. 

In 1919, the YWCA expanded its work to include services African-American women. A group of African-American women took the lead in founding the Blue Triangle YWCA for African-Americans. These tentative steps of interracial cooperation developed into increased understanding between the women serving on both of these boards.

When the number of residents declined dramatically after World War II, the board realized that the YWCA had to reexamine its mission. In the 1980s, the board made the difficult decision to sell this property and move to a suburban administrative facility. Today, the organization’s mission is to “eliminate racism, empower women, stand up for social justice, help families, and strengthen communities.” The Nashville YWCA operates a domestic violence shelter for women and children and runs several jobs-training programs, including GED preparation. This building is currently leased as offices. 

For the second part of this stop, walk just a few steps up the hill to the Polk Place historical marker, and resume narration.

Part II. Polk Place and Sarah C. Polk 

Sarah Childress Polk was born in Murfreesboro in 1803. After she graduated from the Moravian Female Academy in 1819, she returned to Tennessee where she met a young lawyer named James Knox Polk. According to folklore, Sarah told James they could marry once he was elected to political office. He was elected to the state legislature in 1823, and they married the next year. After serving as Tennessee’s governor, James K. Polk ran and was—somewhat surprisingly—elected president of the United States in 1844. As first lady, Sarah was very active as the couple did not have children. 

Just before the end of his term, the Polks, purchased a magnificent Palladian-style house on this block—built by Senator Felix Grundy. The Polks returned to live here in Nashville, but in less than a year, the former president became ill and died of cholera in 1849. After his death, Sarah rarely left the house—though she remained involved in certain organizations such as the Tennessee Historical Society, Women’s Christian Temperance Union, and the Confederate Daughters of America.

When word arrived in 1862 that the Union Army was marching toward Nashville, many prominent white families packed and fled the city. Sarah Polk refused. Although she was a dedicated Southerner, Union generals, including General Ulysses S. Grant, visited Mrs. Polk. After the Civil War, Sarah entertained two other U.S. presidents here at Polk Place—Rutherford B. Hayes and Grover Cleveland.

The former first lady lived in the house until her death in 1891 and was buried beside her husband on the estate. It had been her wish that the house would be preserved as a museum to Polk’s legacy. Her nieces and nephews, however, disregarded her will and sold the home. When the General Assembly realized that the house was scheduled for demolition in 1901, the state intervened and reintered their graves next to the Tennessee State Capitol. You will see the burial monument of Sarah Childress and James K. Polk at our last stop. For more on Polk Place, take our Civil War and Early History Tours.

From the Polk Place marker, continue walking up Seventh Avenue. Once you have reached Union Street, turn RIGHT. Cross Anne Dallas Dudley Boulevard to reach the Hermitage Hotel on your right, at the corner of Sixth and Union.