Ashland Memories: Polk armory - a headquarters during its community years

The Polk armory served as the county’s headquarters for Company C of the Ohio National Guard for 12 years, and after Company C disbanded in 1899, the village purchased it from the state for $440.

During the last 72 years of its existence, the armory building served as a community center for the village, with a variety of activities held within its cavernous hall.

In 1903, it housed classes for the upper levels of the Polk school after a fire destroyed the school.

After World War I, the Lucas-Vaughn Post of the American Legion, named after two local men who died in the war, was headquartered in the armory. Olin Vaughn died of influenza in October 1918, while in service.

The funeral of Earl Lucas was held in the armory in June 1921. He had died in France of wounds received during the Meuse-Argonne battle while serving with the 146th Infantry, and his body was shipped home in 1921.

Center of Polk civic life for many years

The armory was the center of civic life in Polk for many years. Voting precincts were located there, and it was where the village council met. In early years, the fire department kept a pumper in the building, and the post office was once located there, too.

The building housed farmers’ institutes, parties, dances and roller-skating parties. Community groups met there and put on plays and other types of programs.

In February 1942, the American Legion rooms within the armory served as the location where men between the ages of 20 and 44 registered for selective service. A few months later, in April, men between the ages of 45 and 65 also were asked to register, in what was known as the “old men’s draft.”

In 1947, Ashland County's highest ranking officer called Polk home

On Memorial Day 1947, veterans of Polk were invited to a memorial service at the Polk armory, where the speaker for the day was Major General Stanley Reinhart, who was the highest ranking army officer from Ashland County.

Reinhart was a native of Polk, and when he was 5 years old, he was most likely one of the local boys who had milled around while Company C gathered in the armory in 1898. His father, Dr. Reinhart, had examined some of the later recruits at that time.

Reinhart graduated from West Point in 1916, and served in World War I. His World War II assignments included service at Guadalcanal, and in 1943 he was promoted to major general and given command of the 65th Division, which he led through a European campaign.

In 1949, Gen. Reinhart returned to give the principal address at Polk’s centennial celebration, in which he spoke of “the privilege of being a citizen of Polk.”

The armory hosted home basketball games for Polk High School until 1962, despite being a quirky venue in which players had to watch out for low-hanging ductwork and cables when taking shots.

By 1963, the old building was tired out, and some said it was unsafe. It was still standing in 1967–the American Legion still used the upstairs rooms, and Lowell Patton rented a room downstairs for a barbershop–but neglect was taking a heavy toll.

The armory was torn down in 1972, and a new fire station was built on the site in 1975. Fittingly, when the new station was built in 2001, the old fire department became the Polk community center, serving the same function as the old armory.

In 2011, Craig Wiley and his Mapleton industrial arts classes refurbished the old wooden flagpole that used to stand in front of the armory, and restored it to a spot in front of the community center.