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18 unusual facts about Polk County


Bob Lee Swagger

Bob Swagger is a retired Marine Gunnery Sergeant who was born in 1946 and raised in Blue Eye (a fictionalized version of Mena, Arkansas) in Polk County, Arkansas.

Carbury, North Dakota

Norwegian settlers from Polk County, Minnesota, established a settlement near Carbury in 1883, reportedly becoming the first Norwegians in Bottineau County.

Dorothy, Minnesota

Dorothy initially was established as a railroad station in 1916-17 after the Northern Pacific Railway extended its line from Tilden Junction to Winnipeg and built a spur through Red Lake Falls.

Godfrey Darbishire

It was while living in Polk County that Darbishire died on 29 October 1889, after becoming ill from exposure while on a small boat in the sea off Key West; he was 36 years of age.

Illicium parviflorum

The plant is currently known from fewer than 20 occurrences in Central Florida, within Polk, Marion, Lake, Volusia, and Seminole Counties.

James Henry Mills

James Henry Mills (May 2, 1923 – November 11, 1973) was the only Polk County, Florida native to receive the Medal of Honor in World War II.

James S. Clarkson

James S. Clarkson (May 17, 1842 – May 30, 1918) was born in Brookville, Indiana, but raised a native of Polk County, Iowa.

Maikon Bonani

When 11 years old, he moved from Brazil to the U.S. and lived in Lake Wales, in Polk County, Florida.

Maple Bay, Minnesota

Maple Bay is an unincorporated community in Godfrey Township,in central Polk County, Minnesota, United States.

Nowthatsfuckedup.com

The website operated for 90 more days, accepting logins from existing subscribers, before being taken over by the Polk County Sheriff.

The current site disallows access from people in Polk County, Florida as well as people viewing from anywhere inside the Tenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida.

Otis Birdsong

In 2000, Birdsong was inducted in the University of Houston’s Hall of Honor as well as the Polk County, Florida Hall of Fame.

Pelecanus schreiberi

An incomplete quadrate bone and axis vertebra without a spine from a mine of the same age in Polk County in central Florida are tentatively considered to be the same species.

Polk County, Nebraska

Polk County is the locale for the fictional town of Hemingford Home in Stephen King's novel The Stand.

Seth McKeel

McKeel opted to run in the 63rd District, which included much of western Polk County and southeastern Hillsborough County and won the Republican primary unopposed.

Seth McKeel (born on June 5, 1975) is a Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 40th District, which includes most of metropolitan Lakeland in Polk County, since 2012.

Following the reconfiguration of legislative districts in 2012, McKeel was drawn into the 40th District, which was based entirely in Polk County and included most of metropolitan Lakeland.

Trail, Minnesota

Trail is a city in Polk County, Minnesota, United States.


Dayton, Sheridan and Grande Ronde Railroad

The Dayton, Sheridan and Grande Ronde Railroad (DS&GR) was a railroad in Yamhill and Polk counties in the U.S. state of Oregon.

Evander M. Law

There, and as a trustee of the Summerlin Institute from 1905 to 1912, and as a member of the Polk County Board of Education from 1912 until his death, he played a key role in the foundation of public education in Florida.

Half Moon Lake

This lake, located in Polk County, Wisconsin (near Balsam Lake), is home to many different varieties of panfish (bluegill, sunfish, black crappie, yellow perch, and rock bass) and sport fish (largemouth bass, walleye, and northern pike), which make it a popular destination for fishermen.

Jacob Summerlin

He is known for his contributions to the early settlement of Florida, and especially for founding the county seats of Orange and Polk counties, which are Orlando and Bartow, respectively.

John H. Mickey

He married as his first wife, on September 10, 1867 at Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa, Morinda McCray, born April 8, 1849 at Fayette, Indiana, the daughter of James McCray and Mary Harlan.

Kissimmee River

Below Lake Kissimmee, the river forms the boundary between Osceola County and Polk County, between Highlands County and Okeechobee County, and between Glades County and Okeechobee County before it flows into Lake Okeechobee.