Polk Sanitary Milk Company collection
Collection
Identifier: L212
Scope and Contents
This collection includes company account books and microfilmed copies of drivers' route sheets from Polk Sanitary Milk Company in Indianapoolis, Indiana, as well as a scrapbook of records from the Mecca Realty Company and Citizens Brewery Company, ranging from 1904 to 1961, regarding the companies and their activities.
Dates
- 1904-1961, undated
Creator
- Polk, James T. (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.
Administrative History
Polk Sanitary Milk Company was started in 1872 as a canned tomatoes company by U.S. Civil War veteran James T. Polk and his wife Laura (Burdick) Polk in their Greenwood, Indiana home. As the company expanded, it produced scrap agricultural produce, so they bought cows which consumed the scraps. They sold the milk to Tanglewood Dairy Company in Indianapolis, which they bought out in the 1890s. The company expanded to a new building at the corner of North 15th and Lewis streets, adding two oversize sculptures of milk bottles to two corners of the building. "Pok-o-lak" was their signature buttermilk product. The business was managed by the couple's daughter and son-in-law into the 1940s. The business experienced financial hardships in the 1950s and closed around 1963. The building became the property of Indianapolis Public Schools, which was demolished in 1967. The Polk family also owned the Mecca Realty Company of Indianapolis.
Sources:
Items in the collection.
Hostetler, Joan. "Indianapolis Then and Now: Polk Sanitary Milk Company." Historic Indianapolis, November 7, 2013. Accessed March 23, 2016. https://historicindianapolis.com/indianapolis-then-and-now-polk-sanitary-milk-company-1100-e-15th-street.
Sources:
Items in the collection.
Hostetler, Joan. "Indianapolis Then and Now: Polk Sanitary Milk Company." Historic Indianapolis, November 7, 2013. Accessed March 23, 2016. https://historicindianapolis.com/indianapolis-then-and-now-polk-sanitary-milk-company-1100-e-15th-street.
Extent
2 Cubic Feet (1 clamshell box, 5 custom boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
This collection is arranged by subject.
Custodial History
This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation from Polk Sanitary Milk Company in 1963.
Accruals
No further additions are expected.
Processing Information
Collection processing completed 2016/03/30 by Edythe Huffman. EAD finding aid created 2016/03/30 by Edythe Huffman. EAD finding aid revised 2024/08/01 by Brittany Kropf.
Creator
- Polk, James T. (Person)
- Mecca Realty Company (Organization)
- Polk Sanitary Milk Company (Organization)
- Title
- Polk Sanitary Milk Company collection
- Status
- Completed
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository
Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
