Possible closure of James K. Polk birthplace criticized

When 10-year-old Maya Osaka heard that the historic site commemorating her favorite president and UNC alumnus, James K. Polk, might be shut down due to budget cuts, she knew she had to take action.

Osaka took it upon herself to write a letter to Gov. Pat McCrory and 23 legislators with the goal of raising awareness about the site’s historical importance.

She frequently volunteers at the site, located in Pineville, and helps give tours and operate the games and crafts.

“We should preserve it because Polk was the 11th president, and he was considered the best one-term president in American history — I think it would be a terrible thing to say goodbye to that,” she said.

Scott Warren, site manager of the James K. Polk State Historic Site, said it offers free education to the public.

But if legislators keep the cuts in McCrory’s proposed budget, he said the Polk site will be closed beginning July 1.

The Polk site is one of four historic sites in North Carolina that would receive cuts under McCrory’s plan.

The total savings would amount to about $499,000 and the elimination of 11 full-time positions, said Lynn Taylor, a legislative assistant in the office of Rep. Bill Brawley, R-Mecklenburg, in an email.

Rep. Charles Jeter, R-Mecklenburg, said reducing the money allocated to these historic sites would not save much.

“I would imagine it is a very insignificant amount of money in the grand scheme of a $20 million budget,” he said.

And the site is of historic and cultural importance to the state, Jeter said.

Anne Mitchell Whisnant, who teaches public history at UNC, said historical sites such as Polk’s typically are small with few staff members.

The Polk site and others like it are valuable as public and civic goods, she said.

She said she hopes McCrory and legislators will reconsider reducing funds for the site. A petition has also started to keep the site open.

“The cost invested is small in proportion to the large public benefit that is gained,” Whisnant said.

Jeter said Osaka, who has lived five minutes away from the site since she was born, is a prime example of why the site should be preserved.

She is one of five children in the Young Hickory Explorers club, a chapter of the Tar Heel Junior Historian Association, which meets once a month, said Polk site staff educator Sara Walker.

Walker said the club is a hands-on history group for kids.

Those involved are struggling with the idea of the site closing because many of them love history, and the site has been a part of their lives since they were very young, she said.

For Osaka, the greatest concern she has about the possible closure is Walker’s future.

“I’m very, very, very fond of Sara,” she said. “The hardest thing is knowing she won’t have a job.”

Contact the desk editor at state@dailytarheel.com.