In the 1890s, Polk Sanitary Milk Company was the largest milk distributor in Indianapolis. Its operations were headquartered in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood, which is the near east side of Indianapolis at 15th Street and Lewis Street. The neighborhood encompasses Massachusetts Avenue, Sherman Drive, the Monon Trail and more.
Polk Sanitary Milk Company provided steady, local jobs to its employees, especially to those who called the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood home. According to Historic Indianapolis, it hired Black workers when other local dairies would not.
In recognition of the impact Polk Sanitary had on the neighborhood and legacy it left behind for other small businesses, the Harrison Center for the Arts founded the Polklore Micro-Museum, a museum that “preserves stories that help visitors understand how this place moved milk across Indianapolis and how it now moves ideas, skills and small businesses forward.”
The Harrison Center for the Arts is an Indianapolis-based nonprofit that exists to foster awareness, appreciation, and community for arts and culture.
The museum is located along the Monon Trail at the 16th Street corridor. It features a selection of art installations and audio and video experiences collected by artists from neighbors in the community. The center of the micro-museum’s purpose is to “engage the public in a conversation about cultural preservation,” while also celebrating Polk Dairy and the Martindale-Brightwood neighbors.
Tours of the Polklore Micro-Museum are by appointment only, and are facilitated on Mondays and Fridays only.
1533 Lewis St., Indianapolis | harrisoncenter.org/polklore-micro-museum.
