Polk County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 50,123. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

. The county is named after

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...

. The Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation of the federally recognized tribe is in Polk County, where the people have been since the early 19th century. They were forcibly evicted by the federal government from their traditional territory in the Southeast.Howard N. Martin, "ALABAMA-COUSHATTA INDIANS"
''Handbook of Texas Online'', uploaded 9 June 2010, accessed 18 November 2014 The 2000 census reported a resident population of 480 persons on the reservation. The tribe reports 1100 enrolled members.

History

Polk County, named for James Knox Polk of

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

, was created by an act of the first Legislature of the State of Texas, approved on March 30, 1846, out of Liberty County, and embraced that portion from the part designated as the "Northern Division" of said county. It was one of the first of a series of 23 counties, formulated, constituted, and established by the State of Texas, after annexation to the United States.

Demographics

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.'' As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, 41,133 people, 15,119 households, and 10,915 families were residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was . The 21,177 housing units averaged 20 per sq mi (8/km²). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the county was 79.64% White, 13.17% African American, 1.74% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 3.75% from other races, and 1.32% from two or more races. About 9.39% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 15,119 households, 28.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.90% were married couples living together, 10.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.80% were not families. About 24.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50, and the average family size was 2.95. In the county, the population was distributed as 22.90% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 26.80% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 18.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 108.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,495, and for a family was $35,957. Males had a median income of $30,823 versus $21,065 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $15,834. About 13.30% of families and 17.40% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 23.10% of those under age 18 and 12.30% of those age 65 or over.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which (4.7%) are covered by water.

Adjacent counties

Angelina County Angelina County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in East Texas and its county seat is Lufkin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 86,395. The Lufkin, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Angelina Cou ...

(north) * Tyler County (east) * Hardin County (southeast) * Liberty County (south) * San Jacinto County (southwest) * Trinity County (northwest)

National protected area

Big Thicket National Preserve The Big Thicket is the name given to a somewhat imprecise region of a heavily-forested area of Southeast Texas in the United States. This area represents a portion of the mixed pine-hardwood forests of southeast US. The National Park Service esta ...

(part)

Education

School districts: * Big Sandy Independent School District * Chester Independent School District *

Corrigan-Camden Independent School District Corrigan-Camden Independent School District is a public school district based in Corrigan, Texas (USA). In 2022, the school district was given an "A" rating by the Texas Education Agency. C-CISD was one of the first schools in Texas to ...

Goodrich Independent School District Goodrich Independent School District is a public school district based in Goodrich, Texas (USA) that serves students in south central Polk County. Schools The district has three schools - All 3 schools and the administration building are located ...

Leggett Independent School District Leggett Independent School District is a public school district based in the community of Leggett, Texas (USA). In addition to the community of Leggett, Leggett ISD also serves some of the town of Seven Oaks. The district has two campuses - Le ...

Livingston Independent School District Livingston Independent School District (LISD) is a public school district based in Livingston, Texas, United States. LISD celebrated its 100th anniversary on April 26, 2008. In addition to Livingston, the district also serves the census-designat ...

Onalaska Independent School District Onalaska Independent School District is a public school district based in Onalaska, Texas, United States. In addition to Onalaska, the district also serves a portion of the unincorporated community of Blanchard. In 2009, the school district was ...

Woodville Independent School District Woodville Independent School District is a public school district based in Woodville, Texas (USA). Located primarily in Tyler County, the district extends into a small portion of Polk County. In 2009, the school district was rated "academicall ...

The county is in the district for

Angelina College Angelina College is a public community college with its main campus in Lufkin, Texas. It has nine off-campus centers in Crockett, Hemphill, Jasper, Livingston (Polk County Center), Nacogdoches, Pineland (Sabine Center), San Augustine, Tr ...

. Polk County College / Commerce Center was completed in 2013 and is located on the U.S. Highway 59 Bypass. Angelina College offers advanced curriculum study and technical training at this location. The facility provides public auditorium space and may be used as a mass shelter in a disaster event .

Government

Infrastructure

The

Texas Department of Criminal Justice The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails, ...

Allan B. Polunsky Unit Allan B. Polunsky Unit (TL, formerly the Terrell Unit) is a prison in West Livingston, unincorporated Polk County, Texas, United States, located approximately southwest of Livingston along Farm to Market Road 350. - Note the 2010 U.S. Cens ...

is located in West Livingston.Polunsky Unit
."

. Retrieved on May 7, 2010. This has been the location of the Texas

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting Capital punishment, execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of ...

since 1999.

Transportation

Major highways

U.S. Highway 59 U.S. Route 59 (US 59) is a north–south United States highway (though it was signed east–west in parts of Texas). A latecomer to the U.S. numbered route system, US 59 is now a border-to-border route, part of the NAFTA superhighway, NAFTA ...

Interstate 69 Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of 10 unconnected segments with an original continuous segment from Indianapolis, Indiana, northeast to the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, at ...

is currently under construction and will eventually follow the current route of U.S. 59 throughout most of Polk County. *

U.S. Highway 190 U.S. Route 190 (US 190) is an east–west United States Highway in Louisiana and Texas. Segments of US 190 will be upgraded to Interstate 14 (I-14); the first segment was opened on January 26, 2017. Route description , - , TX , , - , ...

* U.S. Highway 287 * State Highway 146 *

Farm to Market Road 350 A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...

Farm to Market Road 356 A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...

Farm to Market Road 357 A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

* Farm to Market Road 942 * Farm to Market Road 943 * Farm to Market Road 1745

Mass transportation

Greyhound Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and pac ...

operates the Livingston Station at the Super Stop Food Mart in Livingston.

Airport

West Livingston has the Livingston Municipal Airport, operated by the City of Livingston.West Livingston CDP, Texas
."

. Retrieved on May 9, 2010.Municipal Airport
." City of Livingston. Retrieved on May 9, 2010.

Communities

Cities

* Goodrich * Onalaska * Seven Oaks

Towns

* Corrigan *

(

)

Census-designated places

* Big Thicket Lake Estates (partly in Liberty County) *

Cedar Point Cedar Point is a amusement park located on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. Opened in 1870, it is considered the second-oldest operating amusement park in the U.S. behind Lake Compounce. Cedar Point is owned and op ...

* Indian Springs * Pleasant Hill * West Livingston

Unincorporated communities

Ace An ace is a playing card, Dice, die or domino with a single Pip (counting), pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit (cards), suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large a ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He was ...

Blanchard Blanchard is a French family name. It is also used as a given name. It derives from the Old French word ''blanchart'' which meant "whitish, bordering upon white". It is also an obsolete term for a white horse. Geographical distribution As of 2014, ...

* Camden * Dallardsville * East Tempe * Leggett *

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Ghost town

Laurelia ''Laurelia'' is a genus of plant in the major group Angiosperms (flowering plants) in the family Atherospermataceae, or formerly Monimiaceae. It contains only two species, both endemic to the southern hemisphere, an example of Gondwanan distri ...

Notable people

Percy Foreman Percy Eugene Foreman (June 21, 1902 – August 25, 1988) was a criminal defense attorney from Houston, Texas. Foreman was born near Bold Springs, Texas. Foreman moved to Livingston, Texas when he was six years old. He was the son of Ransom Pa ...

- notable criminal defense attorney *

John Wesley Hardin John Wesley Hardin (May 26, 1853 – August 19, 1895) was an American Old West outlaw, gunfighter, and controversial folk icon. Hardin often got into trouble with the law from an early age. He killed his first man at the age of 15, claiming h ...

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

gunslinger Gunfighters, also called gunslingers (), or in the 19th and early 20th centuries gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts. Today, the t ...

William P. Hobby William Pettus Hobby (March 26, 1878 – June 7, 1964) was known as the publisher/owner of the '' Beaumont Enterprise'' when he entered politics and the Democratic Party. Elected in 1914 as Lieutenant Governor of Texas, in 1917 he succeeded t ...

- Governor of Texas, publisher of ''

Houston Post The ''Houston Post'' was a newspaper that had its headquarters in Houston, Texas, United States. In 1995, the newspaper shut down, and its assets were purchased by the ''Houston Chronicle''. History Gail Borden Johnson founded the ''Houston Po ...

'' *

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played an important role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two i ...

, general of the revolution to achieve independence and President of the Republic of Texas, spent much time in Polk County, including making peace treaties with the Alabama-Coushata Indians. *

Margo Jones Margo Jones (December 12, 1911 – July 24, 1955), nicknamed the "Texas Tornado", was an American Theatre director, stage director and Theatrical producer, producer, best known for launching the American regional theater movement and for introduc ...

- stage director who launched the careers of

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...

and

Ray Walston Herman Raymond Walston (November 2, 1914 – January 1, 2001) was an American actor and comedian, well known as the title character on ''My Favorite Martian''. His other major film, television, and stage roles included Luther Billis (''South Paci ...

and directed Williams' ''

The Glass Menagerie ''The Glass Menagerie'' is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his Histrionic persona ...

'' on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (; November 22, 1643 – March 19, 1687), was a 17th-century French explorer and fur trader in North America. He explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, the Mississippi River, ...

, noted French explorer of the 17th century, was likely killed in Polk County. *

Sally Mayes Sally Lee Mayes is an American actress and cabaret and concert singer. Biography Born in Livingston, Texas, Mayes began her career as a rock and jazz singer in Houston. She attended the University of Houston.Mark Moseley Mark DeWayne Moseley (born March 12, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He played for Philadelphia Eagles (1970), the Houston Oilers (1971–72), ...

, professional football player, won

Super Bowl XVII Super Bowl XVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 1982 Miami Dolphins season, Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 1982 Washington Redskins season, Washington Reds ...

and was awarded 1982 MVP as a

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

. *

Moon Mullican Aubrey Wilson Mullican (March 29, 1909 – January 1, 1967), known professionally as Moon Mullican and nicknamed "King of the Hillbilly Piano Players", was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and pianist. He was associated with t ...

- musician, "King of the Hillbilly Piano Players" * Captain (Ike) Isaac Newton Moreland Turner was a Confederate captain who joined the Civil War from Polk County, with units called the

Texas Brigade The Texas Brigade (also known as Hood's Brigade) was an infantry formation of the Confederate States Army, Confederate Army that distinguished itself in the American Civil War. Along with the Stonewall Brigade, they were considered the Confederate ...

; his remains were returned here from Georgia and were reinterred in his family cemetery on April 15, 1995.Randy Hill, "A Southern Homecoming"
, n.d., USA Deep South website *

Annette Gordon-Reed Annette Gordon-Reed (born November 19, 1958) is an American historian and law professor. She is currently the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University and a professor of history in the university's Faculty of Arts & Sciences. She ...

(born November 19, 1958, in Livingston, Texas) is an American historian, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and law professor noted for changing scholarship on Thomas Jefferson regarding his relationship with

Sally Hemings Sarah "Sally" Hemings ( 1773 – 1835) was an enslaved woman with one-quarter African ancestry owned by president of the United States Thomas Jefferson, one of many he inherited from his father-in-law, John Wayles. Hemings's mother Elizabet ...

and her children.

Politics

United States Congress

References

External links

*
Polk County (TXGenWeb)
* {{Coord, 30.80, -94.83, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1846 establishments in Texas James K. Polk Populated places established in 1846