If you ever checked an old city directory, no doubt you have seen advertisements in the front, back, middle, and on pages with the listings of people in the community. The various directory companies that existed over the years needed the business advertisers to subscribe and pay for advertising. If there weren’t enough businesses, the directory company didn’t find it feasible to compile and publish a directory for that community. Thus, less populated cities are not targets of city directories.

Unless a business, printing company, or newspaper decided that their community needed such a directory. A recent article I found on the website of the Morrison County Historical Society that is located in Fergus Falls, Minnesota expands on that. https://morrisoncountyhistory.org/?p=11124        

“When you held a Polk Directory in your hands, you knew that a trove of information about people, places, businesses, organizations, and local governments was at your fingertips.” “. . . not generally published in smaller communities, like Little Falls. . . Little Falls did not see it’s first official Polk Directory until 1976-77.” “Into that environment stepped the Herald Printing Company, publisher of the Little Falls Herald weekly newspaper. They decided it was time to get the word out. Thus was born the 1892 Little Falls City Directory.”

Author Mark Worcester continues with a few more Little Falls directories occasionally published. Some of them did go beyond the city limits and hopefully will include Buckman that holds a special spot in my childhood. His excellent article will be added to my already extensive lecture about city directories!

The article is worth reading to learn more about other publishers. Then your chore is to see what other companies stepped in when your towns did not have the population and  businesses large enough for the R. L. Polk company.

© 2026, Paula Stuart-Warren. All rights reserved.