The story
Read it all →How Polk came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Polk.
Polk was platted in 1906 when the railroad was extended to that point.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Polk
Polk’s post office opened in 1906, and 60% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1896 on and the census since 1910.
1906first post office
0on the National Register
60%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Polk began
When was Polk founded?
1906
The Polk post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 396 in 19102020 census: 346120 years
Founding year: the first Polk post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Polk’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 are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18963 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1985. Watch Polk change.Old housesHalf of Polk’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 561 in 1920; 346 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Polk’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Polk’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Polk on the map, 1896 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Polk. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1896Stromsburg sheet · 1:125,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Polk.
Timeline
Polk, 1896 to 1920
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1896
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 20th century
- 1906Post officeThe Polk post office opens
- 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 561
By decade
Polk, decade by decade
2011
2011
2011
2005People over time
Polk, census by census
Peaked at 561 in 1920; 346 people lived here in 2020.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Polk’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Polk
Nobody well known was born in Polk itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Questions about Polk’s history
What year was Polk founded?
The Polk post office opened in 1906, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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, 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.