Our Genealogy Helper
Introduction ...
We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:
- That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
- We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
- On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.
By learning about Polk (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.
As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Polk. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.
Neighboring Counties ...
When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.
For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.
So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived: their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.
If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.
Polk is located in Ashland County.
To see how the shape of Ohio's counties may have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Ashland County: Holmes, Huron, Knox, Lorain, Medina, Richland & Wayne.
Below are the counties that are near Polk. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Polk:
- Ashland County (The home county of Polk)
- The following are listed by their distance from Polk, with the one closest to Polk listed first.
- Albion
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Albion is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Redhaw
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Redhaw is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redhaw
- Rowsburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
- Rowsburg is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rowsburg
- Nova
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Ashland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Bailey Lakes
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
- Bailey Lakes is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bailey Lakes
- Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
- Savannah
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Jeromesville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Ruggles
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
- Ruggles is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruggles
- Hayesville
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
- Hayesville is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hayesville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 459 people
- Mifflin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
- Mifflin is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mifflin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 135 people
- McKay
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
- McKay is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McKay
- Champaign County
- Rochester
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Rochester is located in Champaign County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
- Crawford County
- The following are listed by their distance from Polk, with the one closest to Polk listed first.
- Crestline
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- Tiro
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the west)
- North Auburn
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
- North Auburn is located in Crawford County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Auburn
- Erie County
- The following are listed by their distance from Polk, with the one closest to Polk listed first.
- Birmingham
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the north)
- Florence
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the north)
- Florence is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Florence
- Berlin Heights
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Berlinville
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the northwest)
- Berlinville is located in Erie County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Berlinville
- Holmes County
- The following are listed by their distance from Polk, with the one closest to Polk listed first.
- Miley Crossroads
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Miley Crossroads is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miley Crossroads
- Nashville
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
- Nashville is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 183 people
- Holmesville
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
- Glenmont
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
- Benton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
- Benton is located in Holmes County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Benton
- Huron County
- The following are listed by their distance from Polk, with the one closest to Polk listed first.
- New London
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
- Greenwich
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
- Fitchville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
- Fitchville is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fitchville
- White Fox
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- White Fox is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Fox
- West Clarksfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
- West Clarksfield is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Clarksfield
- Hartland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the northwest)
- Hartland is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
- Delphi
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
- Delphi is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Delphi
- Olena
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northwest)
- Olena is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olena
- Hartland Station
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Hartland Station is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland Station
- North Fairfield
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- North Fairfield is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Fairfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 531 people
- Wakeman
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest)
- Coble Village
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the west)
- Coble Village is located in Huron County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coble Village
- Knox County
- The following are listed by their distance from Polk, with the one closest to Polk listed first.
- Jelloway
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
- Jelloway is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jelloway
- North Liberty
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- North Liberty is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Liberty
- Nunda
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
- Nunda is located in Knox County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nunda
- Lorain County
- The following are listed by their distance from Polk, with the one closest to Polk listed first.
- Huntington
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Huntington is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
- Rochester
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
- Rochester is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rochester
- Population from the 2020 Census: 175 people
- Wellington
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
- Brighton
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Brighton is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brighton
- Pheasant Run Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the north)
- Pheasant Run Village is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pheasant Run Village
- Lagrange
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
- Kipton
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Kipton is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kipton
- Population from the 2020 Census: 233 people
- Nickelplate ‑ Historic
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the north)
- Nickelplate is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nickelplate
- Belden
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast)
- Belden is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Belden
- Oberlin
(23 miles [37 km] to the north)
- Grafton
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north)
- Eaton Estates
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northeast)
- Eaton Estates is located in Lorain County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eaton Estates
- Medina County
- The following are listed by their distance from Polk, with the one closest to Polk listed first.
- Homer
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Homer is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
- Pawnee
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Pawnee is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pawnee
- Spencer
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Lodi
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- River Corners
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
- River Corners is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Corners
- Friendsville
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
- Friendsville is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendsville
- Westfield Center
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
- Westfield Center is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Westfield Center
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,188 people
- Risley ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)
- Risley is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Risley
- Briarwood Beach ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Briarwood Beach is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Briarwood Beach
- Chippewa Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Chippewa Lake is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chippewa Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 749 people
- Former name for Chippewa Lake:
- Chippewa-on-the-Lake
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chippewa Lake <1>
- Gloria Glens Park
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Gloria Glens Park is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gloria Glens Park
- Population from the 2020 Census: 449 people
- Litchfield
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)
- Morrow County
- Blooming Grove
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
- Blooming Grove is located in Morrow County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blooming Grove
- Richland County
- The following are listed by their distance from Polk, with the one closest to Polk listed first.
- Olivesburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
- Olivesburg is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Olivesburg
- Shenandoah
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
- Shenandoah is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shenandoah
- Ganges
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)
- Ganges is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ganges
- Lucas
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
- Mansfield
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southwest)
- Shiloh
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
- Newville
(23 miles [37 km] to the south)
- Newville is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newville
- Alta
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Alta is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alta
- Ontario
(23 miles [37 km] to the southwest)
- Plymouth
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Plymouth is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plymouth
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,789 people
- Shelby
(23 miles [37 km] to the west)
- Forest ‑ Historic
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)
- Forest is located in Richland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest
- Summit County
- The following are listed by their distance from Polk, with the one closest to Polk listed first.
- Paxton
(29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
- Paxton is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paxton
- Clinton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Norton
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
- Pigeon Creek
(30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
- Pigeon Creek is located in Summit County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pigeon Creek
- Wayne County
- The following are listed by their distance from Polk, with the one closest to Polk listed first.
- West Salem
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Lattasburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lattasburg is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lattasburg
- Congress
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Congress is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Congress
- Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
- Aukerman
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
- Aukerman is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aukerman
- New Pittsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- New Pittsburg is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Pittsburg
- Burbank
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
- Funk
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
- Funk is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Funk
- Devil Town
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Devil Town is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devil Town
- Jefferson
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
- Jefferson is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jefferson
- Creston
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
- Wooster
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast)
- Boys Village
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
- Boys Village is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boys Village
For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Polk, see our County-by-County Page for Polk.
Cemeteries Near Polk ...
Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Polk.
This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.
Although we don't have the information ourselves, if you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our list of websites on our Genealogy Helper Page for Polk - one of the links might be able to help.
If not found below, our Cemetery List for Polk covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.
The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Polk, with the one closest to Polk listed first.
- Polk Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Chilcote Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Burge Cemetery
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
- Cannon Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
- Albion Cemetery
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
- Heiffner Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
- Nankin Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Hopewell Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
- Swope Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
- King Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- King Cemetery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Crouse Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Continue List (510 more) ...
- Ripple Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Pleasant Valley Cemetery
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Evangelical Church Graveyard
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
Nearby Communities in 1895 ...
We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<3>
The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Polk had a population of 264 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Polk had a population of 331 people.
These communities are listed based on their distance from Polk, with the one closest to Polk listed first.
- Nankin
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
- Nankin is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nankin
- Albion
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
- Albion is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Albion
- Redhaw
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
- Redhaw is located in Ashland County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redhaw
- Pleasant Home
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Pleasant Home is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Home
- West Salem
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Sullivan
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
- Ashland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
- Lattasburg
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Lattasburg is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lattasburg
- Homerville
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Homerville is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homerville
- Homer
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
- Homer is located in Medina County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homer
- Nova
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Congress
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
- Congress is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Congress
- Population from the 2020 Census: 177 people
- Continue List (14 more) ...
- Savannah
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
- Jeromesville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- New Pittsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- New Pittsburg is located in Wayne County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Pittsburg
We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Polk. See our List of 1890's Communities around Polk.
Newspapers Published in Polk ...
An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).
To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.
Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 69 newspapers that have been published in the area around Polk.
Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Polk, there are papers which were published within 21 miles [33.8 km]<4>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Polk.
Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.
To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Polk:
- Websites specific to Ohio
- Pages specific to Ashland County
- Genealogy information for nearby counties
- Champaign County
- Crawford County
- Erie County
- Holmes County
- Huron County
- Knox County
- Lorain County
- Medina County
- Morrow County
- Richland County
- Summit County
- Wayne County
- Cemetery Information and Directories for Ohio
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com. |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Polk, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Polk) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |