The Dancy-Polk House

(Union Headquarters)

The Oldest home in Decatur still standing, this Early Classical Revival mansion was built by Frank Darcy and was a

private residence until 1872, when it became a boarding house and hotel. During the Civil War, the home belonged to

Dancy's daughter  Caroline Wood, and occupied the front center of Union fortifications during the October 1864 Battle

of Decatur, and was used as Federal officers' quarters. Tradition holds that a Confederate 6-pounder cannon ball, fired

from the Confederate lines south of here, struck and dislodged one of the chestnut columns on the lower front porch. The

column was subsequently repaired, and the patch can still be seen today. Local legend also maintains that the main staircase

was damaged by Federal cavalryman during the occupation. The house passed to Dancy's grandaughter, Lavinia, in 1869,

after she married Captain Thomas G. Polk, a nephew of late Confederate General Leonidas Polk and cousin of late U.S.

President James Knox Polk. One of a handful of structures in Decatur to survive the Civil War, the Polk House, as it was

later known, became a popular stopping point for train passengers. Joseph Wheeler, a Confederate General, later a U.S.

Congressman and U.S. General, and a resident of Courtland west of Decatur, is known to have stayed at the Polk House.

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