The
Polk County Genealogical Society was established
in 1994 in Bolivar, Missouri.
Interested parties
first met for an organizational meeting in
February 1994. The first
program and business meeting was held in April
1994. At the time, the society was a
special interest group of the Friends of the Polk
County Library and was supported
financially by the Friends. The first name of the
society was the Bolivar Genealogy
Group, but the name was soon changed to the Polk
County Genealogical Society.
In 1996, the society became independent of the
Friends of the Library. The first
publication for sale by the society was published
in 1998. The society was incorporated
in August 1999 and became a not-for-profit
corporation in January 2001.
In October 2001, PCGS purchased the Carnegie
library building located on the town
square of Bolivar, Missouri and completed
renovation of the ground floor in the
summer of 2002. The Polk County Genealogical
Society Library was opened to the
public in July 2002.
In January 2003, PCGS received a grant from the
Delarue Trust to remodel the top
floor of the PCGS Library. Work commenced in the
spring of 2003 and is almost
completed. The PCGS Library building was declared
a historic site by the National
Park Service on July 17, 2003 and is now listed
on the National Register of Historic
Places. It is the first historic site in Polk
County to be listed on the Register.
Missouri Secretary of State Matt Blunt announced
in June 2004 that PCGS would
receive nearly $5,000 from the Missouri
Historical Records Grant program. This money
was used for preservation supplies. (For more
information, click here.) In July 2004, the
Polk County Genealogical Society celebrated its
10 year anniversary and the unveiling
of the renovated second floor of the library
building. (For story, click here.)
In 2007, restoration of the outside of the
historic building commenced. Pictures of the
before and after are located on
"Library" page (link to left). The
project for 2009
is replacing the outside stairs. (Pictures can be
found on the same page.) 2010 project is
replacing the windows, starting with the north
side windows. This project was completed
in January 2010, thanks to many generous
donations.
PCGS currently has over 70 publications for sale
and publishes a 10-page bi-monthly
newsletter. Membership in PCGS numbers over 200
people in 2013. The PCGS Library
and Research Facility, open four days a week, is
operated totally by volunteers.
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GENEALOGICAL
SOCIETY GETS NEARLY $5,000 FOR PRESERVATION
From the Bolivar Herald-Free Press
6/11/04, page 1-A
Story by BHFP News Staff
(Reprinted with permission. Thanks
to the BHFP!)
The Polk County Genealogical Society will
get $4,928 to provide
supplies for preservation of historical records.
Missouri Secretary of
State Matt Blunt announced June 8 that the
organization,
located in the old Carnegie library building on
the southeast corner of the Bolivar
square, had been approved for the Missouri
Historical Records Grant program award.
The grant program was created in 2001 through a
$300,000 appropriation by the Missouri
legislature and matching funds from an arm of the
National Archives.
Secretary Blunt said, "History is our shared
public memory. It is important that appropriate
funding be made available in order to preserve
these historical treasures for future generations
to learn from and enjoy."
Susan Sparks, president of the PCGS, said the
funds will be used to buy acid-free boxes and
file folders, Mylar to encapsulate old documents,
and other supplies for the preservation of
records.
Documents in the care of the PCGS include maps,
land deeds, marriage certificates, court
records, photographs, Civil War discharge papers,
church records and others, some dating to
the founding of Polk County in 1835.
The PCGS was established in 1994 under the
auspices of the Friends of the Library. In 2000
the society was incorporated as an independent,
non-profit organization. In 2001 the society
bought the Carnegie library building at a cost of
$90,000. Community support raised $140,000
that was used to buy the building and remodel the
first floor. Renovations are now underway
on the upper floor of the former Polk County
library building, funded by a $32,000 grand from
the Delarue Trust.
In July 2003 the building also became the first
structure in Polk County to be listed on the
National Register of Historic Places.
The society has about 200 members.
PCGS wins award from Friends of the
Missouri State Archives
By Charlotte Marsch, charlottem@bolivarmonews.com
Story previously published in the Bolivar
Herald-Free Press, Wednesday, July 2, 2008,
page 20a.
Used with permission. www.bolivarmonews.com
Polk County
Genealogical Society President Susan Sparks and
Leta Gass, archivist and
treasurer, attended the Friends of the Missouri
State Archives annual meeting June 14 to
receive the Jonas Viles Award.
Polk County Genealogical Society
received the Jonas Viles Award presented in June
by the Friends of the Missouri State Archives.
Viles was a University of Missouri history
professor who rescued thousands of documents from
the capitol lawn after the 1911 fire.
“It’s nice to get recognition for all
the hard work the volunteers have done,”
said Susan Sparks,
PCGS president. “We were nominated by the
field archivists for the Secretary of
State’s office.”
One institution or person who has made a
significant contribution to the preservation of
Missouri’s heritage is chosen each year for
the award, with the first award being given in
2004.
“It’s not an award for one or
two,” said Leta Gass, archivist and
treasurer for PCGS. “It’s for
people who have come in here and donated
collections instead of throwing them away.
I’m
hoping this will get more people to donate their
collections.”
The recipient must be a strong supporter of
Missouri history; possess a deep commitment to
its
preservation and study; and have made a positive
impact on the safekeeping, accessibility,
scholarship, and/or promotion of Missouri’s
past.
“I want them to see the award and
know we take preserving history and genealogy
seriously,”
Sparks said. “For a totally
volunteer-supported organization, it is an
honor,” Gass said.
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