Polk County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,519. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Bolivar. The county was organized January 5, 1835, and is named for Ezekiel Polk. Polk County is part of the Springfield metropolitan area.

History

Polk County was separated and organized from Greene County on January 5, 1835. A supplement to the boundary change was made on March 13, 1835. Its original boundaries were later reduced in creating Dade,

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, and

Hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes 19 species accepted by ''Plants of the World Online''. Seven species are native to southeast Asia in China, Indochina, and northeastern India (Assam), and twelve ...

counties. It was named in honor of Col. Ezekiel Polk of Tennessee, a soldier who served under General

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

and who was the grandfather of John Polk Campbell and Ezekiel Madison Campbell, brothers who helped to settle Polk and Greene counties. Ezekiel Polk was also the grandfather of James K. Polk, who was a member of the US House of Representatives in 1835. He was elected President of the United States in 1844.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.1%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Hickory County (north) * Dallas County (east) * Greene County (south) * Dade County (southwest) * Cedar County (west) * St. Clair County (northwest)

Major highways

* Route 13 * Route 32 * Route 83 * Route 123 * Route 215

Transit

Jefferson Lines Jefferson Lines (JL or JLI) is a regional intercity bus company operating in 14 states in the Midwest and the West of the United States. History The company is operated by Jefferson Partners L.P., located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jefferson P ...

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, there were 26,992 people, 9,917 households, and 7,140 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 11,183 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.26% White, 0.45% Black or African American, 0.67% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races. Approximately 1.30% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 9,917 households, out of which 33.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.50% were married couples living together, 8.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.00% were non-families. 23.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.02. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.70% under the age of 18, 12.60% from 18 to 24, 25.50% from 25 to 44, 20.80% from 45 to 64, and 15.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $29,656, and the median income for a family was $35,843. Males had a median income of $25,383 versus $18,799 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $13,645. About 11.10% of families and 16.30% 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 ...

, including 20.00% of those under age 18 and 12.00% of those age 65 or over.

2020 census

Education

Public libraries

*Polk County Public Library

Media

The ''Bolivar Herald-Free Press'' is published twice weekly.

Communities

Cities

* Bolivar (county seat) * Fair Play * Humansville * Morrisville * Pleasant Hope

Villages

* Aldrich * Flemington * Goodnight, from 2003 to 2016 * Halfway

Unincorporated communities

Adonis In Greek mythology, Adonis (; ) was the mortal lover of the goddesses Aphrodite and Persephone. He was considered to be the ideal of male beauty in classical antiquity. The myth goes that Adonis was gored by a wild boar during a hunting trip ...

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

* Burns * Cliquot * Dunnegan * Eudora * Goodson * Graydon Springs * Huckaby * Huron * Karlin * Knox * Mohawk Corner * Polk * Rimby * Rock Prairie *

Rondo The rondo or rondeau is a musical form that contains a principal theme (music), theme (sometimes called the "refrain") which alternates with one or more contrasting themes (generally called "episodes", but also referred to as "digressions" or "c ...

* Schofield *

Sentinel Sentinel may refer to: Places Mountains * Mount Sentinel, a mountain next to the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana * Sentinel Buttress, a volcanic crag on James Ross Island, Antarctica * Sentinel Dome, a naturally occurring granit ...

* Slagle *

Sunset Sunset (or sundown) is the disappearance of the Sun at the end of the Sun path, below the horizon of the Earth (or any other astronomical object in the Solar System) due to its Earth's rotation, rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth, it ...

* Tin Town * Van * Violet * West Bend * Wishart

Townships

Polk County is divided into 22 townships: * Campbell Township * Cliquot Township * East Looney Township * East Madison Township * Flemington Township * Jackson Township * Jefferson Township * Johnson Township * McKinley Township * Mooney Township * North Benton Township * North Green Township * Northeast Marion Township * Northwest Marion Township * South Benton Township * South Green Township * Southeast Marion Township * Southwest Marion Township * Union Township * West Looney Township * West Madison Township * Wishart Township

Politics

Local

The Republican Party completely controls politics at the local level in Polk County. Republicans hold all of the elected positions in the county.

State

All of Polk County is in the 128th district in the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

, and is represented by Christopher Warwick (R- Bolivar), who was elected in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. All of Polk County is a part of Missouri's 28th district in the

Missouri Senate The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 181,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two yea ...

, which is currently held by Republican Sandy Crawford.

Federal

All of Polk county is included in Missouri's 4th congressional district and is currently represented by Mark Alford (R-

Lake Winnebago Lake Winnebago (, , ) is a shallow freshwater lake in the north central United States, located in east central Wisconsin. At , it is the largest lake entirely within the state, covering an area of about by with of shoreline, an average depth ...

) in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Political culture

Polk County has been a Republican Party stronghold for most of its history at the presidential level. In only four presidential elections from 1896 to the present has a Democratic Party candidate carried the county, the most recent being

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

in 1964.

Missouri presidential preference primary (2008)

Former

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Mike Huckabee Michael Dale Huckabee (, born August 24, 1955) is an American diplomat, political commentator, Baptist minister, and politician serving as the 29th United States Ambassador to Israel, United States ambassador to Israel since 2025. A member of ...

(R-

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

) received more votes, a total of 2,317, than any candidate from either party in Polk County during the 2008 presidential primary.

References

External links

*http://www.bolivarmonews.com/
Digitized 1930 Plat Book of Polk County
from

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books
Polk County Sheriff's Office
{{Coord, 37.62, -93.40, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MO_source:UScensus1990 1835 establishments in Missouri Populated places established in 1835 Springfield metropolitan area, Missouri