Polk County, Florida Genealogy

Guide to Polk County, Florida ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

United States Florida  Polk County

County Courthouse
Polk County Courthouse 255 N Broadway Ave Bartow, FL 33830-3912 Phone: 863.534.4540

Boundaries changed 1871. Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, divorce, court, and land records from 1861.

Quick Facts
A bit of history of creation from Hillsborough County.

Parent County
8 February 1861: Polk County was created from Hillsborough County. County seat: Bartow

Boundary Changes
For animated maps illustrating Florida county boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Florida County Boundary Maps" (1821-1997) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

Record Loss
For a list of record loss in Florida counties see: Florida Counties with Burned Courthouses

Places / Localities
The preceding list of places includes incorporated cities and towns, unincorporated towns and communities, and place names that may have been used in family histories. Some have well-organized records and even have web sites. Some are simply social communities with no official records, but which may be referenced in small-town newspapers. The list is provided to help researchers identify localities within the county. As records or histories of these localities are identified, a page will be added for each of these place names.

Archives and Libraries
Bartow Historical Library, Bartow, Polk Co., Florida

African-Americans
Heritage and History in Polk County

Willow Lawn Cemetery- African American- &amp; obits

Jackson C. Longworth - African American Polk Co. Pioneer

Biography

 * Polk Co FLGenWeb Project Inc
 * History of Polk County Florida, 1928

Cemeteries
For cemeteries within cities and communities, please refer to their pages.

Gazetters
Town Listings for Polk County

Maps

 * Maps of Florida (1821-1997)

Obituaries
Valentine V. VanHuss -FLGenWeb Project,Inc.

Periodicals

 * Polk County Historical Association Quarterly Magazine

Birth Records

 * 1880 - 1935 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1882-1940 - Polk County Birth Record Books 1-2 Index 1882-1940 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

Death Records

 * 1877 - 1939 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1900 - 1921 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1877 - 1998 at FamilySearch.org — index

Divorce Records

 * 1927 - 2001 Florida, Divorce Index, 1927-2001 at Ancestry.com — index $

Marriage Records

 * 1837 - 1974 at FamilySearch.org — index
 * 1830 - 1993 at FamilySearch.org — index/images
 * 1822 - 1875 and 1927 - 2001 at FamilySearch.org — index/images
 * 1861-1927 - Polk County Marriage Books A-B, 1-11 Index 1861-1927 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free.

Societies and Libraries, and Museums

 * List of Florida Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies
 * Polk County Historical Association

Family History Centers

 * Lake Hamilton Florida Family History Center (Haines City)
 * Lakeland Florida Family History Center
 * Valdosta Florida Family History Center

Websites

 * Polk County, FL History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
 * Florida Genealogy Network Community on Google+
 * Florida Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
 * Polk County, Florida Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)
 * Polk County, FLGenWeb Project, Inc.
 * Polk County, FLGenWeb Project, Inc.