Columbus-Belmont State Park, on the shores of the Mississippi River in Hickman County, in Columbus, Kentucky, is the site of a Confederate fortification built during the American Civil War. The site was considered by both North and South to be strategically significant in gaining and keeping control of the Mississippi River. A single surviving antebellum building at the park, once a farmhouse, served as a Confederate hospital during the early part of the war. The restored building remains a museum. Other points of interest include a portion of Leonidas Polk's giant chain and anchor, used in an unsuccessful attempt to blockade the river, the Lady Polk, an experimental cannon named after Polk's wife, a lookout tower, and concession stand.