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 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 | |
|---|---|
 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 / 30.8°N 94.83°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Texas |
| Founded | March 30, 1846 |
| Named for | 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 |
History
editPolk 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
edit| 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] | |||
| 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 Race 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, 28.80% 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 for the county was $15,834. About 13.30% of families and 17.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.10% of those under age 18 and 12.30% of those age 65 or over.
Geography
editAccording 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
edit- Angelina County (north)
- Tyler County (east)
- Hardin County (southeast)
- Liberty County (south)
- San Jacinto County (southwest)
- Trinity County (northwest)
National protected area
editEducation
editSchool 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
edit| 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
editThe 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
editMajor highways
editU.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
editGreyhound Lines operates the Livingston Station at the Super Stop Food Mart in Livingston.[18]
Airport
editWest Livingston has the Livingston Municipal Airport, operated by the City of Livingston.[15][19]
Communities
editCities
editTowns
editCensus-designated places
edit- Big Thicket Lake Estates (partly in Liberty County)
- Cedar Point
- Indian Springs
- Pleasant Hill
- West Livingston
Unincorporated communities
editGhost town
editNotable people
edit- 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
editUnited States Congress
edit| 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 Lutrell | Republican | 2022 | Entire county | |
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 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% |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Polk County, Texas". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ Howard N. Martin, "ALABAMA-COUSHATTA INDIANS", Handbook of Texas Online, uploaded June 9, 2010, accessed November 18, 2014
- ^ Ike Turner Camp, U. C. V. (1901). Historical Polk County, Texas: Companies and Soldiers Organized in and Enrolled From Said County in Confederate States Army and Navy—1861–1865, Organization Ike Turner Camp, U. C. V., Unveiling, Etc. Livingston, Texas: Polk County Enterprise, Printers. pp. 3–4.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ "Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decades". US Census Bureau.
- ^ "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010" (PDF). Texas Almanac. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- ^ a b "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Polk County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ a b "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Polk County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Polk County, Texas". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
- ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Polk County, TX" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved September 24, 2024. - Text list
- ^ Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.165. ANGELINA COUNTY JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA..
- ^ [1], Polk County College Archived February 2, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "West Livingston CDP, Texas Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on May 9, 2010.
- ^ "Polunsky Unit Archived 2010-07-25 at the Wayback Machine." Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on May 7, 2010.
- ^ "Death Row Facts" Archived August 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on May 7, 2010.
- ^ ""Greyhound.com | Locations : States : Texas". Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2012.." Greyhound Lines. Retrieved on July 29, 2012. NOTE: The information for Livingston appears as a pop-up window.
- ^ "Municipal Airport Archived 2010-05-06 at the Wayback Machine." City of Livingston. Retrieved on May 9, 2010.
- ^ "Tribal History", Alabama-Coushatta website
- ^ "Margaret Virginia Margo Jones", Texas Escapes website
- ^ "René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle", Handbook of Texas Online, accessed November 18, 2014
- ^ Randy Hill, "A Southern Homecoming" Archived May 13, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, n.d., USA Deep South website
- ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
External links
edit Media related to Polk County, Texas at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website
- Polk County (TXGenWeb)
- Polk County from the Handbook of Texas Online