Polk County Genealogical Society, Inc.

Polk County Genealogical Society, Inc. PCGS, Inc. promotes genealogical research by providing educational & research items in our facility. Work commenced in the spring of 2003.

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 t

he 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. 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. 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. In 2007, restoration of the outside of the historic building commenced. The project for 2009 was replacing the outside stairs. 2010 project was replacing the windows, starting with the north side windows. This project was completed in January 2010, thanks to many generous donations. Solar panels were installed in 2016 and restoration of the top of the walls near the roof line was completed in 2019. PCGS currently has over 70 publications for sale and publishes a 10-page bi-monthly newsletter. Membership in PCGS numbers over 200 people. The PCGS Library and Research Facility, open four days a week, is operated totally by volunteers.

07/30/2026

TWO NATIONAL ARCHIVES FACILITIES ARE CLOSING AND MOST GENEALOGISTS HAVE NO IDEA.

The National Archives has confirmed that its regional facilities in Chicago and San Bruno, California, will close in the next few years. Records may become inaccessible to the public and be moved very soon.

These are not dusty warehouses full of duplicate paperwork.

They hold permanent federal court, naturalization, immigration, Asian American, Native American, military, prison, and agency records that researchers frequently visit and use and many of these records are NOT fully digitized.

And here’s the part that should make every researcher furious:

We still do not have a complete public plan explaining where every collection will go, how long records may be unavailable, whether local research access will be replaced, or what will happen to the archivists who actually know these collections.

WHERE ARE THE RECORDS GOING?
HOW LONG WILL THEY BE UNAVAILABLE?
WHO WILL STILL BE ABLE TO ACCESS THEM?

This is bigger than two buildings. This is about public access to our history.

Share this before the records start moving and everyone suddenly asks why nobody warned them.

https://www.saveournationalarchives.org/

07/03/2026

PCGS is CLOSED, Saturday, July 4!

Send a message to learn more

07/02/2026

Meeting tonight, 7 p.m.

Send a message to learn more

Awesome!
07/02/2026

Awesome!

Nearly 250 years after he died in the Battle of Camden, researchers identified Pvt. John Pumphrey as one of more than a dozen Continental Army John Does that were found near the battlefield.

Researchers in South Carolina announced that they confirmed the identity of one set of remains. Pumphrey, whose death was not recorded and whose identity was nearly lost to history, had been from a prominent Maryland family who enlisted in the Continental Army in his early teens. Given his service in the 7th Maryland Regiment, he is believed to have taken part in several campaigns in the nearly four years he fought in the Revolutionary War.

Researchers from the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology found the bodies in 2022 after coming across some exposed bones. The Historic Camden museum began studying the site and reached out to FHD Forensics to try and identify the 14 dead. It was determined that 13 were Americans while the 14th was British. According to the Baltimore Sun, a skull fragment — which turned out to belong to Pumphrey — had a strong DNA sample. That, with genealogical databases, gave the researchers leads. Records from the area also helped to narrow the identity of the deceased, leading to Pumphrey. The young private joined the Continental Army at around 14 in 1777.

It took “incredibly complicated research to go all of the way back to the colonial era,” FHD Forensics President Allison Peacock said at the event. Pumphrey himself didn’t have descendants, but researchers were able to trace the co**se back to him via his siblings’ descendants.

06/19/2026

PCGS is CLOSED on June 19, Friday!

06/01/2026

PCGS Picnic this Thursday, June 4, 6 p.m. at Dunnegan Park Pavilion #1. Please bring a side dish or dessert to share. PLEASE RSVP to [email protected] or call 417-777-2820. Thank you!

05/23/2026

PCGS will be CLOSED Monday, May 25!

Send a message to learn more

Last few days. Deadline May 9!
05/06/2026

Last few days. Deadline May 9!

The deadline has passed for 2026. Check in next year!

MEMORIAL DAY: PCGS will be offering a Memorial Day Flower placement service for those who want or need us to place flowers on gravesites.

Flowers will be placed on the grave between May 14 and May 24, 2026. This year, Memorial Day is May 25.

All orders must be turned in and paid for by May 9, 2026.

We look forward to helping you with Memorial Day flowers.

Address

P O Box 632, 120 E Jackson
Bolivar, MO
65613

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 2pm
Wednesday 10am - 2pm
Friday 10am - 2pm
Saturday 10am - 2pm

Telephone

(417) 777-2820

Website

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