Leonidas L. Polk
••Crusader of fhe Soil'' would be
an appropriate flcvnig’iiation for
this great North Carolinian who
rendered invaluable service
along many lines.
By It. C. LAWRENCE
POI.K «as a big name in the Pied¬
mont where those of that name
signed the Mecklenburg Resolves
of May 20, 1775; where Col. Thomas
Polk served during the Revolution
with conspicuous gallantry; where
Col. William Polk also served the
cause of his country, as the result
whereof lie carried to his grave the ef¬
fects of a severe wound. From this
family on mo James K. Polk, Presi¬
dent of the United States; General
Thomas O. Polk, who later rose to
fame in Mississippi; Leonidas Polk.
Bishop of Louisiana and Lieutenant
General in the Confederate sen-ice,
killed on Pine Mountain durinz the
Atlanta campaign during the War be¬
tween the States. But none of these
famous Polks ever rendered more
service to their native State than did
their kinsman, Colonel Leonidas L.
Polk, Crusader of the Soil.
Born in Anson County
Born in Anson in 1837, ho was a
member of the legislature of 1801,
where he opposed secession until Lin¬
coln called upon the State for troops,
when he became a pronounced Se¬
cessionist. He was commissioned a
Colonel, and raised a regiment for the
Confederate service in Anson, after
which he resigned his commission and
reentered the service as a private in
the 26th North Carolina, commanded
by Zebulon B. Vance, where ensued
я
friendship between the two men
which lasted as long as they lived.
When Vance became Governor, Polk
became an officer in the 43rd regiment,
under Col. Thomas S. Kenan, was
wounded at Gettysburg, participated
in many bloody battles, and in 1801
was again sent to the legislature.
In the days of reconstruction his
people elected Polk to represent them
in the Constitutional Convention, and
in this Convention he sponsored a pro¬
vision for the establishment of a State
Department of Agriculture. Soon after
the war he became prominently iden¬
tified with the State “Grange" and in
1874 founded and became editor of
the Anson ion, organ of the Grange,
through which he continue*! his cam¬
paign for the relief of the farmer and
for the establishment of a State De¬
partment of Agriculture.
In 1877 the State Grange invited
other organizations to join it in work¬
ing out concrete plans for such a de¬
partment. Polk was chairman of this
meeting, and as the direct result there¬
of the legislature of 1877 created n De¬
partment, the legislation providing
that it should be headed by a Com¬
missioner who should be a practical
farmer.
As the leading exponent of the cre¬
ation of surh a department, it was but
natural that Polk should have been
elected as its first Commissioner. He
< rganized the department but resigned
in 1880 to devote his entire time to
organizing and building up the State
G ran go, for ho wished an organization
of sufficient strength to secure relief
from various political and economic
ills from which the agricultural in¬
terests then suffered.
I have said on more than one oc¬
casion that when men have visions,
there is usually an educational aspect
which accompanies it. It was so with
Polk, for he perceived that the cause
of the farmer in the end must rest
upon information and education. To
further this purpose, in 1886 he
launched the Progressive Former. The
character of the man speaks to you
from his salutatory:
"Serving no master, ruled by
no faction, circumscribed by no
selfish or narrow policy, its aim
will be to foster the best interest
of the whole people of the
State.”
While Polk Ls best known to fame
for his political and economic service,
there are two educational institutions
in Carolina which could quite prop¬
erly derive their ancestry from him.
these being State College and Meredith
C olloge, while Dr. R. D. W. Connor in
bis history of Carolina gives credit
for the success of Melver and Aider-
man to the friendly farmers of the
legislature of 1891.
In its every issue the Progress! rr
Farmer called attention to what Ag¬
ricultural and Mechanical colleges
were doing in other States through the
m*o of the Land Script Fund, and what
Bitch a college could, would and should
do in this State. In the ensuing po¬
litical campaign, Polk spoke from
many platforms demanding specific
relief, and other forward looking fea¬
tures, including a college for the edu¬
cation of farmers. He was then Sec¬
retary of the State Grange, and called
я
meeting to consider the question of
such a College. This meeting approved
the idea, appointed a legislative com¬
mittee "f which Polk was a member,
and left the details to this committee*.
The farmers were successful in the
election that fall and the legislature
included more farmers than any since
the Civil War. A bill for the estab¬
lishment nf a farmers college, drawn
by the committee above referred to.
was introduced in the House bv Au¬
gust ns Leazor of Iredell, member of
the State Board of Agriculture, and
passed. It was piloted thrnuch the
Senate by S. B. Alexander of Meck¬
lenburg. also a member of the Board
of Agriculture, and past master of the
State Grange. Here was the genesis
of State College. Do you wonder that
they finally erected Polk Hall upon
its grounds?
Education for Women
In the Baptist State Convention of
1888, Polk introduced a resolution
providing for a committee to consider
the feasibility of establishing an in¬
stitution for the higher education of
women. Polk was named as chairman
of this committee and was elected as
President of the Convention. The fol¬
lowing year the Convention unani¬
mously adopted the report of thi« com¬
mittee, and designated a “Board of
Trustees" to take charge of the e>-
tnhlishmcnt of the proposed institu¬
tion. Polk was named chairman of
this Board, and also as president of
the Convention for another year.
Here was the genesis of the institu¬
tion now known to Carolina ns Mere¬
dith College. Ho was also a trustee
of Wake Forest College and served
the cause of education in yet other
ways.
As early as IS72 Polk was organiz¬
ing local "Granges" in the State, and
the .In.tormin was the official organ
thereof, as was also the Progressive
Former ii|ion its establishment. Upon
his suggestion in 18S7. a convention of
(Confirmed on page twenty-fire)
