Colonel McNeal House

Colonel McNeal House, also referred to as McNeal Place or the Ezekiel Polk McNeal House, is an Italianate mansion in Bolivar, Tennessee, part of Hardeman County, Tennessee. The home was built for Major Ezekiel Polk McNeal's (born 1804)[2] and his wife after their only child, a teenage daughter named Priscilla, died in 1854.[3] Initial construction began circa 1858 and the mansion was completed during the American Civil War circa 1861 - 1862.[4] It was designed by architect Samuel Sloan.[5] In National Register of Historic Places filings it is described as "the finest Italianate house in West Tennessee and among the most outstanding in the state." The residence is a two-story brick building with square cupola.[6] The home is located on Bills Street and Union Street. It is part of the Bills-McNeal Historic District.[6]

LocationBolivar, Tennessee
Architectural styleItalianate
Part ofBills-McNeal Historic District (ID80003829[1])
Added to NRHPFebruary 12, 1980

Ezekiel McNeal born September 6, 1804[2] was a cousin of U.S. President James K. Polk.[4] His grandfather Ezekiel Polk died August 31, 1824 and is buried at the Polk Cemetery in Bolivar. McNeal was the son of Thomas McNeal and Clarissa (Polk) McNeal, daughter of Ezekiel Polk.[2]

Numerous photos and plans of the house were made as part of a Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) project. The house was identified as Italianate.[4]

A "service section" was connected to the house by a path. The property includes an octagonal wash house with a brick chimney and a frame smokehouse with a pyramidal roof.[6]

In 2015 and 2016 the home was part of a history, legends, and ghosts tour of the area.[7]

The home features a rose garden and trees planted by McNeal.[8]

  • Interior parlor
  • Iron porch
  • Fireplace with firebox and mirror above
  • West elevation
  • West and South elevations
  • Main stairway
  • HABS schematic

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. William S. Speer (April 2010). Sketches of Prominent Tennesseans: Containing Biographies and Records of Many of the Families who Have Attained Prominence in Tennessee. Genealogical Publishing Com. pp. 110, 161. ISBN 978-0-8063-1715-1.
  3. Kathryn Tucker Windham (20 February 2016). Thirteen Tennessee Ghosts and Jeffrey: Commemorative Edition. University of Alabama Press. pp. 126–. ISBN 978-0-8173-1901-4.
  4. "Colonel McNeal House, Union & Bills Streets, Bolivar, Hardeman County, TN". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA.
  5. "McNeal Place - 1861 - Visit Historic Bolivar". sites.google.com.
  6. Barbara Hume Church and Robert E. Palton (November 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Bills-McNeal Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved April 24, 2017. With 14 photos from 1976.
  7. "History, legends, ghosts and more on Bolivar tours".
  8. Mecklenburg - Bolivar's Famous Polk House - Visit Historic Bolivar
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