Our Mission
The Polk County Historical Association was founded in 1974 as a not-for-profit 501(c)3 member-supported organization dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of Polk County history. Through a broad range of activities in collaboration with the Polk County History Center, the Polk County Historical Association promotes the awareness of and interest in Polk County history.
Polk County Historical Association Board of Directors
2020-2021
David Brewer, President
Richard A. Fifer, Vice President
Roderick D. Hudnell, Treasurer
Lois Sherrouse-Murphy, Secretary
Mel Sellers, Past President
Jennifer Bush, Heritage Partners Committee Co-Chair
S. L. Frisbie IV
C. Wayne Guest
John Keating
Lyonal B.Lindsay, Jr.
LuAnn Mims, Communications Committee Chair
Sheila Tindle
Harriet Rust, Heritage Partners Committee Co-Chair
Donald H. Wilson
Myrtice Young
Directors Emeritus
William Lloyd Harris
Sue Sellers
Board of Directors Meeting Schedule
Feb, April, July & September on 2nd Tuesdays @ 4:00 Pm at the Polk County History Center, 100 East Main St, Bartow, FL
A Brief History
Contributed by Hazel Bowman and Freddie Wright,
Edited by Tom Muir
On a Sunday afternoon in 1974, forty-one organizers accepted a mandate to make the past part of the present and to ensure that past and present will be part of the future for Polk County citizens, by establishing the Polk County Historical Association. Initial officers were Glenn Hooker, President; Walter Crutchfield, Vice President; Jim Gardner, Vice President; Elizabeth Brown, Secretary; Lacona Padgett, Treasurer, Louise Frisbie, Quarterly Editor, and “Bud” Dixon, Clerk of the Court for Polk County as ex officio member of the Polk County Historical Commission. The Clerk of the Court office donated the services of Lacona Padgett, librarian for the Polk County Historical Library, contributing eight hours weekly for PCHA recordkeeping. Space was also provided for a PCHA office.