Organized on September 27, 1898, the Mecklenburg Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution was the first chapter in North Carolina. Harriet Nesbit Latta, founding state regent, appointed Mary Ann Morrison Jackson as the chapter's regent. Within three years, the group became involved with charitable programs such as the American Red Cross, Crossnore School, and the Hezekiah Alexander House. On September 26, 1904, the chapter unveiled North Carolina's first monument honoring James K. Polk, the eleventh president of the United States. The Charlotte Evening Chronicle reported that four hundred enthusiastic citizens listened to local historians J.B. Alexander and Capt. W.E. Ardrey speak on the occasion's importance and Polk's presidency. For years, the monument stood as the only indication of Polk's time in Mecklenburg. Originally located where the main house is today, it was moved to make way for the building. The site opened in 1968, when Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson's wife, Lady Bird, dedicated it.