Village of Polk

Arborville, one of the two towns Polk drew from, was a York County town. Andreas's 1882 history says C. S. Harrison laid it out in 1874, and that it then held one general store, a blacksmith shop and a post office. Its Congregational church was organized in 1873 at the home of W. S. Hill, met in the schoolhouse and finished its own building in 1879, and Methodist and Presbyterian societies had formed in 1872 and 1874. Polk itself counted 346 people in the 2020 census, against the 561 of its 1920 peak.

What the plaque says

The Village of Polk Incorporated September 11, 1907 Polk, founded in 1906 and named after U.S. President James K. Polk,was the last town established in Polk County. When the Union Pacific Railroad began building a branch line in the area, J.Wesley Wilson, his brothers Nathan and Victor, and brother-in-law C.C. McCune, formed the City Improvement Company to obtain land and lay out the town. After a townsite had been surveyed, the company held a public sale of lots on September 11, 1906, which attracted more than 1,000 prospective buyers. A whirlwind of building activity followed, and the village boomed. Houses and stores from nearby Arborville and Stark were moved to Polk to take advantage of the railroad. By 1907 four passenger and two freight trains arrived daily. The village grew to include four churches, five grocery stores, three banks, two hotels, a livery barn, blacksmith, school, and newspaper. By 1914 water and electric systems had been installed. The town's peak population of 561 was reached in 1920. Agriculture was and still remains the mainstay of the area, and the village continues as a trade center for the surrounding region. Irvin and Mildred (Stevens) Anderson Estate

Where it stands

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