Leonidas L. Polk
Polkton, Anson County, North Carolina
Marker Inscription
Leonidas L. Polk 1837 1892. President of National Farmers' Alliance, 1889-1892; began Progressive Farmer, 1886; a founder of NCSU and Meredith College. Was born here.
Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The Story
Born on this site in 1837, Leonidas L. Polk became one of the South's great champions of the farmer. He founded the influential newspaper The Progressive Farmer in 1886, led the national Farmers' Alliance, and helped establish the schools that grew into NC State University and Meredith College. His advocacy gave voice to rural people during the agrarian upheavals of the Gilded Age.
Why it matters
Polk helped build the farmers' movement that fed into Populism, reshaping American politics around the grievances of rural life.
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Related people
- · Leonidas L. Polk
Themes & tags
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