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–Not graded
History · Polk Township

30% of Polk Township’s homes were built before 1940

0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

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.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Polk Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Polk Township, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

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.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Winslow
1869–1905
Woods
1898–1902
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
OrchidWinslowWood
Gone or out of use
Bray SchoolschoolCenter SchoolschoolFizzle Ridge AirportairportOak Grove SchoolschoolOrchid SchoolschoolPence SchoolschoolSpiking SchoolschoolTaylor Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Polk Township
Oak GroveOgle GroveUnion Star

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Polk Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Polk Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Polk Township is a township in DeKalb County, Missouri, United States. At the 2020 census, its population was 737. Polk Township was established in 1845, taking its name from President James K. Polk.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 768 to 737 (-4%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Polk Township, 1869 to 1905

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869Post officeThe Winslow post office opens
  3. 1898Post officeThe Woods post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902Post officeThe Woods post office closes
  6. 1905Post officeThe Winslow post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
Famous people

Famous people close to Polk Township

Nobody well known was born in Polk Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
E
Edward Harrison TaylorAmerican herpetologist · b. 1889
Elmer HoltAmerican politician · b. 1884
H
Henry IbaAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1904
Joseph TooleAmerican politician · b. 1851
J
Jerry WallaceAmerican country and pop singer · b. 1928
Owen BushAmerican actor · b. 1921
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Grant TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSherman Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJackson Township1 historic placeB+Union StarIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Polk Township’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.