Polk County, Texas

Polk County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 50,123.^[1] Its county seat is Livingston.^[2] The county is named after President James K. Polk. 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.^[3] The 2000 census reported a resident population of 480 persons on the reservation. The tribe reports 1100 enrolled members.

Polk County
County
Polk County Court House
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 30°48′N 94°50′W
Country	United States
State	Texas
Founded	March 30, 1846
Named after	James K. Polk
Seat	Livingston
Largest town	Livingston
Area
• Total	1,110 sq mi (2,900 km2)
• Land	1,057 sq mi (2,740 km2)
• Water	53 sq mi (140 km2)  4.74%
Population  (2020)
• Total	50,123
• Estimate  (2023)	50,123
• Density	45/sq mi (17/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP Codes	75934, 75936, 75939, 75960, 77326, 77335, 77350, 77351, 77360, 77364
Area code	936
Congressional district	8th
Website	www.co.polk.tx.us

History

See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Polk County, Texas

Ike Turner Camp Confederate Monument, Livingston, Texas

Polk County, named for James Knox Polk of Tennessee, President of the United States, 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.^[4]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1850	2,348		—
1860	8,300		253.5%
1870	8,707		4.9%
1880	7,189		−17.4%
1890	10,332		43.7%
1900	14,447		39.8%
1910	17,459		20.8%
1920	16,784		−3.9%
1930	17,555		4.6%
1940	20,635		17.5%
1950	16,194		−21.5%
1960	13,861		−14.4%
1970	14,457		4.3%
1980	24,407		68.8%
1990	30,687		25.7%
2000	41,133		34.0%
2010	45,413		10.4%
2020	50,123		10.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[5] 1850–2010[6] 2010[7] 2020[8]

Polk County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition
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 may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000[9]	Pop 2010[7]	Pop 2020[8]	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	30,723	32,830	34,808	74.69%	72.29%	69.45%
Black or African American alone (NH)	5,357	5,153	4,869	13.02%	11.35%	9.71%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	649	778	914	1.58%	1.71%	1.82%
Asian alone (NH)	156	180	340	0.38%	0.40%	0.68%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	3	7	0	0.01%	0.02%	0.00%
Other race alone (NH)	5	14	135	0.01%	0.03%	0.27%
Mixed or multiracial (NH)	379	492	1,712	0.92%	1.08%	3.42%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	3,861	5,959	7,345	9.39%	13.12%	14.65%
Total	41,133	45,413	50,123	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the census^[10] of 2000, 41,133 people, 15,119 households, and 10,915 families were residing in the county. The population density was 39 inhabitants per square mile (15/km²). The 21,177 housing units averaged 20 per square mile (7.7/km²). The racial makeup 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, 28.8% had children under 18 living with them, 57.9% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.8% were not families. About 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.50, and the average family size was 2.95.

In the county, the age distribution was 22.9% under 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 or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.70 males. For every 100 females 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 for the county was $15,834. About 13.3% of families and 17.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.1% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those 65 or over.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,110 sq mi (2,900 km²), of which 53 sq mi (140 km²) (4.7%) are covered by water.^[11]

Adjacent counties

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

National protected area

• Big Thicket National Preserve (part)

Education

School districts:^[12]

• Big Sandy Independent School District
• Chester Independent School District
• Corrigan-Camden Independent School District
• Goodrich Independent School District
• Leggett Independent School District
• Livingston Independent School District
• Onalaska Independent School District
• Woodville Independent School District

The county is in the district for Angelina College.^[13] 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.^[14]

Government

Position		Name	Party
	County Judge	Sydney Murphy	Republican
	Commissioner, Precinct 1	Guylene Robertson	Republican
	Commissioner, Precinct 2	Mark Dubose	Republican
	Commissioner, Precinct 3	Milton Purvis	Republican
	Commissioner, Precinct 4	Jerry Cassity	Republican

Infrastructure

Polk County Judicial Center, Livingston, Texas

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice Allan B. Polunsky Unit is located in West Livingston.^[15][16] This has been the location of the Texas men's death row since 1999.^[17]

Transportation

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 59
  • Interstate 69 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. Highway 287
• State Highway 146
• Farm to Market Road 350
• Farm to Market Road 356
• Farm to Market Road 357
• Farm to Market Road 942
• Farm to Market Road 943
• Farm to Market Road 1745

Mass transportation

Greyhound Lines operates the Livingston Station at the Super Stop Food Mart in Livingston.^[18]

Airport

West Livingston has the Livingston Municipal Airport, operated by the City of Livingston.^[15][19]

Communities

Cities

• Goodrich
• Onalaska
• Seven Oaks

Towns

• Corrigan
• Livingston (county seat)

Census-designated places

• Big Thicket Lake Estates (partly in Liberty County)
• Cedar Point
• Indian Springs
• Pleasant Hill
• West Livingston

Unincorporated communities

• Ace
• Asia
• Barnum
• Blanchard
• Camden
• Dallardsville
• East Tempe
• Leggett
• Moscow

Ghost town

• Laurelia

Notable people

• Percy Foreman - notable criminal defense attorney
• John Wesley Hardin - Old West gunslinger
• William P. Hobby - Governor of Texas, publisher of Houston Post
• Sam Houston, 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.^[20]
• Margo Jones - stage director who launched the careers of Tennessee Williams and Ray Walston and directed Williams' The Glass Menagerie on Broadway^[21]
• René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, noted French explorer of the 17th century, was likely killed in Polk County.^[22]
• Sally Mayes was a Broadway actress and singer. Livingston named a street in her honor.
• Mark Moseley, professional football player, won Super Bowl XVII and was awarded 1982 MVP as a placekicker.
• Moon Mullican - 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; his remains were returned here from Georgia and were reinterred in his family cemetery on April 15, 1995.^[23]
• Annette Gordon-Reed (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 and her children.

Politics

United States Congress

Senators		Name	Party	First Elected	Level
	Senate Class 1	John Cornyn	Republican	1993	Senior Senator
	Senate Class 2	Ted Cruz	Republican	2012	Junior Senator
Representatives		Name	Party	First Elected	Area(s) of Polk County Represented
	District 8	Morgan Luttrell	Republican	2022	Entire county

United States presidential election results for Polk County, Texas^[24]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	19,216	79.11%	4,910	20.21%	165	0.68%
2020	18,573	76.79%	5,387	22.27%	226	0.93%
2016	15,176	76.45%	4,187	21.09%	489	2.46%
2012	14,071	73.54%	4,859	25.39%	204	1.07%
2008	13,731	68.15%	6,230	30.92%	188	0.93%
2004	13,778	66.09%	6,964	33.41%	104	0.50%
2000	11,746	61.84%	6,877	36.21%	371	1.95%
1996	6,473	45.44%	6,360	44.65%	1,411	9.91%
1992	5,390	37.81%	5,942	41.69%	2,922	20.50%
1988	5,831	48.88%	5,943	49.82%	155	1.30%
1984	5,987	60.36%	3,898	39.30%	33	0.33%
1980	3,771	46.51%	4,213	51.96%	124	1.53%
1976	2,529	36.30%	4,384	62.93%	54	0.78%
1972	3,048	63.13%	1,760	36.45%	20	0.41%
1968	1,013	22.18%	1,841	40.31%	1,713	37.51%
1964	1,199	32.41%	2,492	67.35%	9	0.24%
1960	1,268	37.74%	2,037	60.63%	55	1.64%
1956	1,663	52.89%	1,465	46.60%	16	0.51%
1952	1,454	39.36%	2,238	60.58%	2	0.05%
1948	317	13.96%	1,422	62.64%	531	23.39%
1944	154	6.83%	1,817	80.61%	283	12.56%
1940	280	9.58%	2,642	90.42%	0	0.00%
1936	141	8.01%	1,618	91.93%	1	0.06%
1932	110	4.93%	2,117	94.98%	2	0.09%
1928	508	33.73%	994	66.00%	4	0.27%
1924	272	12.70%	1,839	85.85%	31	1.45%
1920	255	19.84%	810	63.04%	220	17.12%
1916	107	9.39%	918	80.60%	114	10.01%
1912	41	5.26%	615	78.85%	124	15.90%

United States Senate election results for Polk County, Texas1^[25]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	18,596	77.02%	5,106	21.15%	441	1.83%

See also

• Texas portal

• List of counties in Texas
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Polk County, Texas
• Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Polk County