Listed record inventories
Selected holdings and indexes for Polk County, checked against the repository descriptions linked below. Date spans may contain gaps; an index is not a complete set of original records.
Newspapers
- Baptist Witness (Arcadia, Fla.)1912-1914
- Bartow Advance Courier (Bartow, Fla.)1887-1888
- Courier=informant (Bartow, Polk County, Fla.)1888-1919
- Daily Courier-Informant ([Bartow, Fla.])1898-1898
- Evening Star-Telegram (Lakeland, Fla.)1924-1925
- Florida Baptist Witness (Ocala, Fla.)1908-1912
- Highland News (Frostproof, Fla.)1914-1960
- Lake Wales Highlander (Lake Wales, Fla.)1916-1924
- Lakeland Ledger (Lakeland, Fla.)1941-1967
- Lakeland Morning Star (Lakeland, Fla.)1915-1917
- Lakeland News (Lakeland, Fla.)1931-19??
- Lakeland Star Telegram (Lakeland, Fla.)1922-1928
- Polk County Journal (Lakeland, Fla.)1926-1927
- Polk County Labor Journal (Lakeland, Fla.)1925-1926
- Polk County Record (Bartow, Fla.)1902-1946
- The Bartow Informant (Bartow, Polk Co., Fla.)1881-1888
- The Cadet Couranto (Bartow, Fla.)1902-19??
- The Daily Highlander (Lake Wales, Fla.)1947-1961
- The Florida Christian Advocate (Sanford, Fla.)1886-1941
- The Florida Cracker (Lakeland, Polk Co., Fla.)1884-1888
- The Highlander (Lake Wales, Fla.)1924-1947
- The Lake Wales Daily (Lake Wales, Fla.)1933-1947
- The Lake Wales News (Lake Wales, Polk County, Fla.)1924-Current
- The Lakeland Evening Ledger (Lakeland, Fla.)1924-1927
- The Lakeland Evening Ledger (Lakeland, Fla.)1924-1928
- The Lakeland Evening Telegram (Lakeland, Fla.)1911-1922
- The Lakeland Evening Telegram (Lakeland, Florida)1911-1922
- The Lakeland Morning Star (Lakeland, Fla.)1921-1922
- The Lakeland Morning Star (Lakeland, Fla.)1921-19??
- The Lakeland Star (Lakeland, Fla.)1917-1921
- The Leader (West Fort Meade, Fla.)1910-192?
- The Mulberry Press (Mulberry, Fla.)1909-1995
- The Polk County Democrat (Bartow, Fla.)1931-Current
- The Polk County News (Bartow, Fla.)1890-1???
- The Polk County Star ([Lakeland, Fla.])1916-19??
- Weekly No-Fence Bulletin (Bartow, Fla.)1920-19??
- Winter Haven Daily Chief (Winter Haven, Fla.)1924-1948
- Winter Haven Daily News-Chief (Winter Haven, Fla.)1948-1980
- Winter Haven Herald (Winter Haven, Polk County, Fla.)1930-19??
See the repository's descriptions and search options
Repository access note: Selected newspaper titles cataloged by the Library of Congress with explicit county geography. Priority is given to titles beginning by 1950; up to five later titles are included where no earlier dated title is listed for that county. Dates describe publication history, not the issues available at a library. Multiple format records with the same title, place and dates are grouped. The catalog may describe paper, microfilm or online resources. Open ends and the word Current reflect the catalog description; confirm present availability and exact holdings with the libraries listed on the linked record.
Sources: the catalogs and repository descriptions linked on the entries above. Selected inventories do not establish complete coverage of every record type or online access to original documents. Read the repository access note for source dates and limitations.
Where to find the records
- Find Polk County's official website
We haven't checked this county's website yet, so this opens a web search. Look for an address ending in .gov, then find the clerk of the circuit court.
- The clerk of the circuit court
In Florida the clerk keeps most county records: deeds and other official records, marriage licenses, probate and court cases.
- The State Archives of Florida
In Tallahassee: territorial and state records, Confederate pension files, and the state censuses.
- State Archives of Florida (Florida Memory)free
The State Archives' online collections: Confederate pension applications, Spanish land grants, photographs and more, with the archives in Tallahassee.
- FamilySearch Catalogfree
Search by place for "Florida, Polk" to find filmed and digitized records, many viewable free online with a FamilySearch account.
Offices change their hours and access rules; call before you visit.
Boundaries and parent counties
Formed from: Brevard County, Hillsborough County
Check the parent counties for earlier records: Brevard County, Hillsborough County
Records stay with the county that created them. If your ancestor lived here before 1861, search the parent county. The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries shows each boundary change.
Research tip
Florida's statewide birth and death records begin in the late 1800s and are fullest from 1917. Florida took state censuses in 1885, 1935 and 1945, among others, which fill gaps between federal ones.