Thanks to efforts of the Polk County Historical Society, much of our county's past has been preserved for future generations. Preserving our rich heritage began when the society was formed in 1937. Perhaps its most important accomplishment is the operating of the Polk County Museum. The old courthouse that was built in 1899 and is on the National Register of Historic Places was converted into three floors of galleries in 1976.

If you walk through the museum, you get a sample of life around the early 1900's. The more than fifty galleries feature a fully equipped general store, blacksmith shop, barbershop, early kitchen, hardware store, bedroom and parlor, ethnic exhibits, military room, and the Native American room which even houses a wigwam.