Leonidas Lafayette Polk (April 24, 1837 - June 11, 1892), or
L.L. Polk, was an American farmer, journalist and political figure.
He was born in
Anson County, North Carolina. L.L. Polk fought in the
American Civil War for the
Confederate States of America, and was wounded at the
Battle of Gettysburg.
Returning to North Carolina after the war, Polk founded the town of
Polkton, incorporated in 1875, where he started a weekly newspaper called
The Ansonian. Through it he advocated for farmers and for the
Grange movement. Polk, a distant relative of President
James K. Polk, became active in state politics, serving in the
North Carolina House of Representatives and as a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1865-66. In 1877, he was appointed the first
North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture and served until 1880. An agricultural collection he established as Commissioner was the basis for what became the
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.
Polk returned to journalism by founding the
Progressive Farmer in 1886 in
Winston. The magazine is still published to this day. At first, the paper's primary aim was to teach new agricultural methods, but soon it also focused on politics.
Meanwhile, Polk was also active in the
Baptist church, once serving as president of the
North Carolina Baptist State Convention. Polk was instrumental in establishing the
North Carolina Agricultural and Mechanical College and
Baptist Female University.
In the late...
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