Polk County, Georgia
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 9 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1980. Most listings are in or near Cedartown, Rockmart.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for Georgia is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Polk titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP4 of 9 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
9 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Cedartown Commercial Historic District | Cedartown | 1992 |
| Cedartown Waterworks-Woman's Building-Big Spring Park Historic District | Cedartown | 2000 |
| Euharlee Elementary School | Rockmart | 2026 |
| Hawkes Children's Library | Cedartown | 1980 |
| Northwest Cedartown Historic District | Cedartown | 2008 |
| Rockmart Downtown Historic District | Rockmart | 2009 |
| Rockmart Woman's Club | Rockmart | 1995 |
| South Philpot Street Historic District | Cedartown | 2011 |
| St. James' Episcopal Church | Cedartown | 2019 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBPolk was formed in 1852 (1852-04-01) from Floyd, Paulding, lost to CASS (lots 27, 28.
POLK created from FLOYD and PAULDING, lost to CASS (now BARTOW) (lots 27, 28; 18th dist.). Act creating POLK passed 20 Dec 1851; original act modified on 1 Jan 1852, 13 Jan 1852, and 22 Jan 1852; creation and modifications took effect 1 Apr 1852.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusPolk County population from 1860 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6,295 | 11,952 | 17,856 | 20,357 | 28,467 | 30,976 | 28,015 | 32,386 | 38,127 | 42,853 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS22 cemeteries and 14 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 22 of 22 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Antioch Cemetery |
| Edmondson Cemetery |
| Greenwood Cemetery |
| Hightower Cemetery |
| Hutching Cemetery |
| Jones Cemetery |
| Lime Branch Cemetery |
| Macedonia Cemetery |
| Maple Springs Cemetery |
| Northview Cemetery |
| Oak Grove Baptist Church Cemetery |
| Old Taylorsville Church Cemetery |
| Pine Bower Baptist Church Cemetery |
| Polk Memorial Gardens Cemetery |
| Red Hill Cemetery |
| Rockmart Memorial Gardens |
| Rose Hill Cemetery |
| Saint Johns Cemetery |
| Sanders Cemetery |
| Shiloh Baptist Church Cemetery |
| Southview Cemetery |
| Wimberly Hill Baptist Church Cemetery |
Historical populated places — 14 of 14
| Name |
|---|
| Brewers |
| Briscoe |
| Davitte |
| Don |
| Fearing |
| Grady |
| Greenway |
| Hamlet |
| Posco |
| Ravenel |
| Red Ore |
| Treat |
| Walthrall |
| Winkles |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Civil War battlefields nearby
ABPPAmerican Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) Civil War study areas near this county.
| Battlefield | Study acres | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas | 901 | 33.8 km |
Source: NPS American Battlefield Protection Program Civil War Study Areas (public ArcGIS feature service).
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for Polk County, Georgia
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.