Polk County Historical & Genealogical Library

Have you ever wondered about who your ancestors were? Did you have a family member who fought in the American Revolution? Where did your family originate? You may answer all these questions and more at the Polk County Historical & Genealogical Library in Bartow. Don’t know how to get started? No problem! Did you say that your family isn’t from Polk County? That doesn’t matter! The staff of the Polk County Historical & Genealogical Library will be teaching a “Beginning Genealogy Class” on Saturday, November 14th from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. in the library at 100 East Main Street, Bartow.

Due to circumstances beyond our control, the Polk County Historical & Genealogical Library will be CLOSED all day Saturday, September 12th. We appreciate your patience and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We expect to re-open for business as usual on Tuesday, September 15th at 9:00 a.m. Thank you.

On Thursday, July 9th 2009 we added our Index to Marked Burials and Index of Polk County Cemeteries. The Index to Marked Burials contains information about over 112,000 burials in Polk County. Just enter a name in one of the search fields and you'll be on your way! The Index to Polk County Cemeteries is a simple list of all known graveyards in the county. Try it and let us know what you think!

Since January 2006 the Polk County Library Cooperative has made it possible for library card holders to use the Heritage Quest and Sanborn Fire Insurance Map resources at no charge. Additionally, patrons were able to access these resources from home using their own internet connections.

On January 1, 2009 the Polk County Historical & Genealogical Library became a project of the Polk County Library Cooperative. We are highly pleased because this change of administration and oversight will make many good things happen for our facility! When you visit the library you will find the same friendly and familiar faces to serve you.