The story
Read it all →How Polk Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Polk Township.
Polk Township was organized in 1846. It was named for President James K. Polk.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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History · Polk Township
30% of Polk Township’s homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1950 on and the census since 1890.
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
Where Polk Township’s name came from
How did Polk Township get its name?
Polk Township was named for President James K. Polk.
Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓
What stands out about Polk Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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Start Polk Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Polk Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.From the old history books
What they wrote about Polk Township, 1900–1914
Passages that mention Polk Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Huntington County, Indiana1914 · page 329Read the page →
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From the best authority at hand, it is believed that the first meeting of the German Baptists in Huntington County was held in the barn of Jacob Fullhart, in Polk Township, in June, 1840, a minister named Moss conducting the services. No organization of a church was made at that time, but a few years later a small society was established, which met at the homes of the members or in the schoolhouse until about 1857, when the members united with others of the same faith and founded the German Baptist Church of Andrews. Among the early members were
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History of Huntington County, Indiana1914 · page 156Read the page →
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Harlansburgh Just when and by whom this village was founded is uncertain. It is situated in the northeastern part of Polk Township and was in exist¬ ence forty years ago at least. A postoffice was established there at a comparatively early date and Oliver N. Snider was postmaster for several years, as well as the village merchant. At one time D. B.
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History of Huntington County, Indiana1900 · page 329Read the page →
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Polk Township gravel road, was let to Bailey, Fisher, et. al., contractors, Novembers, 1881, for $6,872.78. The road was completed and accepted October 19, 1882.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
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Polk Township on the map, 1950 to 1981
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Polk Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1950Andrews sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Polk Township.
People over time
Polk Township, census by census
Between 390 and 1,010 people in every census since 1890.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Polk Township’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Polk Township
Nobody well known was born in Polk Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Polk Township’s history
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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Sources
Where this page comes from
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.