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History · Polkville

Polkville’s post office opened in 1847

Most of Polkville was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. Below: maps from 1950 on and the census since 1980.

1847first post office
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Polkville began

When was Polkville founded?

1847

The Polkville post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 528 in 19802020 census: 516179 years
Founding year: the first Polkville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Polkville’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 Polkville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,514 in 1990; 516 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1847: 179 years of Polkville.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Polkville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Polkville’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
People over time

Polkville, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,600198020002020Peak: 1,514

Peaked at 1,514 in 1990; 516 people lived here in 2020.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Polkville’s Wikipedia page.

Timeline

Polkville, 1847 to 1990

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1847Post officeThe Polkville post office opens
  3. 1881Born hereHatcher Hughes is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1990CensusPopulation peaks at 1,514
The story

How Polkville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Polkville.

Read it all →

The John Lattimore House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Polkville, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Polkville-post-office-nc2021Polkville-post-office-ncPolkville-United-Methodist-nc2021Polkville-United-Methodist-ncPolkville-Town-Hall-nc2021Polkville-Town-Hall-ncNCMap-doton-Polkville2004NCMap-doton-Polkville
On the map

Polkville on the map, 1950 to 2002

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Polkville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Polkville on the 1950 USGS mapPolkville on the 1982 USGS mapPolkville on the 2002 USGS map1950Shelby sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Polkville.

Questions about Polkville’s history

What year was Polkville founded?

The Polkville post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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 Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.