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Big Creek Lake is a lake situated in the Big Creek State Park in Polk County, Iowa. The lake is situated two miles to the north of Polk City, spreads across 814 acres (329 ha), and its mean depth is 17.3 feet (5.3 m) (maximum 51 feet (16 m) deep). The lake's purpose was to protect Polk City from floods. It was a part of the Saylorville project. It provides numerous recreational options including fishing, picnicking, swimming, boating, camping, and others.

Clarkson was an unincorporated community in Warren County, Iowa, United States. It was located two miles east of Carlisle, near the Des Moines River. Its elevation was 935 feet.

Big Creek State Park is a 3550-acre state park located in Polk County, Iowa.

Union Township is a township in Polk County, Iowa, United States.Its elevation is listed as 942 feet above mean sea level.

Sheldahl is a city in Polk, Boone, and Story counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 297 at the time of the 2020 census.The Boone County portion of Sheldahl is part of the Boone Micropolitan Statistical Area, while the Story County portion is part of the Ames Metropolitan Statistical Area. Together, these two areas form the Ames–Boone Combined Statistical Area. The small portion of the city that extends into Polk County is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Sheldahl First Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church is a historic building located in Sheldahl, Iowa, United States. The community was platted by Osmund Sheldahl and J.S. Polk. Sheldahl was a lay Lutheran minister who settled in Illinois in 1845. He and three others came to this area in 1854 in search of cheap available land. The following year, 21 families that had organized themselves as the "Palestine Congregation" relocated to Story County. Sheldahl became a large land owner and the regular pastor for Palestine Lutheran Church in 1860. He built a house in town in 1877 and he and his two sons built this church building in 1883. Osmund Sheldahl served the congregation as an unpaid pastor for 13 years. His will stipulated that the church building be made available to any Christian denomination that emphasized Bible teaching. It remained in regular use until 1936. The rectangular structure features a balloon frame covered with clapboard and built on a rubble stone foundation. The interior furnishings with decorative cabinet work details were locally made. The building is an unusual example of a private church built on private land, maintained by the founder's family and descendants, and made available for public use. The church building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It is noteworthy for its association with the Norwegian settlement of this part of Story County and Osmund Sheldahl's volunteer ministry.

Polk City is a city in Polk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5543 in the 2020 census, an increase from 2,344 in 2000. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. Polk City is located along Saylorville Lake and near Big Creek State Park.

The Big Creek Schoolhouse, also known as Polk City Schoolhouse and Polk City City Hall, is a historic building located in Polk City, Iowa, United States. It was built in 1863 when the community was known as Big Creek. It is the work of master builder John Adam Schall, who was able to adapt heavy timber framing for the construction of the two-story Greek Revival structure. It served as a schoolhouse and community center from the time it was built until 1893. It became Polk City's city hall the following year, and continued to serve as a community center. A full-size addition was completed on the back of the building in 1915. Two one-story additions were constructed later in the 20th century. A frame addition was built in 1964 on the southwest corner of the main block, and a frame lean-to was added onto the north elevation in 1984. In 1966 the outside staircase, which was the only way to access the second floor, was removed.Unused portions of the first floor and the whole second floor of the building was leased to the Big Creek Historical Society, which converted the space into a museum. Restoration took place from 2005 to 2009. The rest of the building continues to serve as city hall. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

Big Creek Bridge 2 is located northeast of Madrid, Iowa, United States. It spans Big Creek for 53 feet (16 m). The Marsh arch bridge was designed by Des Moines engineer James B. Marsh in February 1917. The contract to build the structure was awarded in April of the same year to the N.E. Marsh & Son Construction Company of Des Moines for $3,170. It was completed later in 1917. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

Slater is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,543 at the time of the 2020 census.

Garden Township is one of seventeen townships in Boone County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2000 census, its population was 1,022.

The Richard L. and Verda M. Alleman Farm Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located southeast of Slater in rural Polk County, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013. At the time of its nomination the district consisted of 18 resources, including nine contributing buildings, one contributing site, one contributing structure, one contributing object, three non-contributing buildings, and three non-contributing structures.The farm at this location has been in the Alleman family since the 1880s making this a true century farm. Its significance is attributed to its being the first stop of a 1955 tour made by Vladimir Matskevich, a representative of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, and 11 leading Soviet agricultural scientists and managers. During a power struggle that followed the death of Joseph Stalin, the Soviet Union suffered from poor harvests and a shrinking rural population. After Khrushchev publicly complemented American agriculture and criticized Soviet agricultural management, Lauren K. Soth wrote an editorial in The Des Moines Register, "If the Russians Want More Meat...", inviting him to send a delegation to Iowa to see how its farmers worked successfully. Soth assumed Khrushchev would take no such action, however, the Premier took him up on the offer. The Alleman's were contacted on July 7, 1955, by Polk County Extension agent Grover Hahn about the possibility of visiting their farm. The visit took place ten days later on July 17. Soth was awarded the 1956 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing for his editorial. Matskevich returned to visit the Alleman farm again in 1971, this time as the Soviet Union's Minister of Agriculture and Food. The historic district's contributing resources were in place when the 1955 visit took place.