08/31/2026
HISTORY OF RALPH B. POLK, SR., FOUNDER OF POLK CANNING COMPANY AND HIS SON, RALPH B. POLK, JR.
Ralph Burdick Polk was born in Greenwood, Indiana on August 31, 1875 to James T. and Laura Burdick Polk. He was married to Grace Mae Porterfield, who was born in 1873 in Ohio. They had two sons, Ralph, Jr. and Jack T. Polk.
Ralph Burdick Polk, Jr. was born on August 6, 1905 in Greenwood, Indiana. He was married to Evelyn Ross Farrion. They had a daughter, Evelyn Grace Polk.
Ralph, Sr. worked for his father on their dairy in Indiana when he was young. Eventually, he worked with his brother-in-law, Sam Dugan. He helped invent an agitating cooker for sweet corn.
Grace Polk was a philanthropist, former concert singer, and partner in her husband’s business ventures. She also composed songs and wrote two operettas.
The Polks came to Florida in 1920. Ralph, Sr. established a thriving grapefruit industry in the area. His career in Florida began as a bottler of grapefruit juice through 1920 and 1921. In 1922, he purchased the building which was originally the Florida Fruit Products Company constructed in 1917 by Cyrus Street in Haines City. He established a grapefruit sectioning plant, the Polk Canning Company, employing 300 employees. He first introduced edible canned grapefruit, handling sections under the lye peeling method. His canning plant was the Florida’s leading citrus processor throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s.
In 1925-26, Ralph, Sr. formed a syndicate, Florida Development Company, and constructed the historic Polk Hotel at a cost of $500,000. It was a ten story, concrete building with an elevator, dining room, ballroom, and commercial stores on the ground level surrounding the building.
In the 1930’s, Ralph, Sr.’s father’s dairy was forced to close and the manager, James Crowles, came to work at Polk Canning Co. in 1935, he was the co-inventor of the first commercial juice extractor with Ralph, Jr.
Ralph, Sr. and Grace lived in Miami and always spent summers months at their home, “The Maples” back in Greenwood. They also invested in other properties in Haines City.
On September 21, 1936, Ralph, Jr. and Evelyn purchased the property at 112 Graham Park Drive in Haines City. His mother had purchased the lot in back of the property for taxes and also deeded it to them.
Eventually, the property was sold to R. H. Cook and Mary Cook on September 8, 1954. After Mr. Cook’s passing, Mary sold the property to her daughter, Sharon and son-in-law, Don Gardner in 2001. The home is a 3,948 sq ft, two story, four bedroom home with a pool and large lakefront lot on Lake Eva. The home has changed owners several times since the Gardners sold.
In the 1930’s, Ralph, Sr. relocated his plant to Tampa, taking most of his employees with him. In 1940, he and his son patented a method of removing the citrus cells from the inedible portions of fruit while in Tampa. He also moved to Tampa in 1947.
Ralph, Sr. continued to improve canning and peeling processes throughout his career. He was a charter of the Florida Canners Association and was inducted into the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame in 1962.
Interesting note: He also heard Mary Hatcher, who had been born in Haines City and was a daughter of one of his employees, sing on the radio. He was so impressed with her operatic voice that he arranged for her singing lessons and schooling and she became a successful film star.
Sadly, Ralph, Sr. passed away on April 17, 1952 and Grace passed on April 8, 1965. Their son, Ralph, Jr. passed on September 15, 1993.
We would like to thank the Polks for their contributions made to the citrus processing industry and for being a part of Haines City’s history.
