Polk County

Polk County, Texas

Polk County, Texas

The Polk County Courthouse is located in Livingston, the seat of Polk County, Texas. Photograph by Jim Evans.
Polk County, Texas

Polk County, Texas

Map of Polk County, Texas. Map Credit: Robert Plocheck.

Polk County is in the East Texas Timberlands region on the east bank of the Trinity River. Its geographical center is at 94°50' north latitude and 30°49' west longitude. The county seat, Livingston, straddles U.S. highways 59 and 190 about seventy-six miles northeast of Houston. The county comprises 1,061 square miles, ranging in elevation from 100 to 300 feet. The land gently rolls in the north and has light-colored, loamy surfaces and deep, reddish clay subsoils. To the south the topography is more level, with acidic, sandy to loamy surfaces and deep, reddish loam or clay subsoils. Along the Trinity River the soils are dark with loamy surfaces and cracking clay subsoils. Marine deposits indicate that the region was once under the sea. Pine and hardwood forests cover much of the area, but nearly 40 percent of the county is considered prime farmland. The Neches and Trinity rivers border the county, which is drained by seven primary streams: Menard, Sally, Tombigbee, Big Sandy, Long King, Piney, and Kickapoo creeks. Lake Livingston, a man-made reservoir on the Trinity River, covers 82,600 acres. The average annual temperature is 67° F. Precipitation averages forty-eight inches annually, and the growing season lasts 250 days.

Before European settlement, Polk County was inhabited by the Hasinai Indians, a loose alliance of Caddo descent. The Alabama and Coushatta Indians crossed into the Big Thicket, which covered much of the region, from Louisiana in the late eighteenth century. Unlike the Hasinais, they remained in the county, living on land given to them by the state of Texas in 1854. The Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation, enlarged by the federal government in 1928, is east of Livingston on U.S. Highway 190. Three streams in Polk County bear the names of Coushatta chiefs-Long King, Long Tom, and Tempe. A third group, the Pakana Muskogees, of Creek descent, settled in Polk County in 1834; many moved to Oklahoma in 1899, and the remainder have joined the Alabama-Coushatta Indians. The Big Thicket discouraged European settlement. Although the region now called Polk County was included in a vast royal land grant to Pánfilo de Narváez as early as 1529, the Spanish largely neglected the area. A few roads following Indian trails were completed through the district, but no settlers came. About 100 American and Hispanic families received land grants from various empresarios and companies between 1831 and 1834, but few actually settled the land. The census of 1834 recorded only seven families in the Trinity River settlement of Smithfield (see ACE, TEXAS).

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Richard B. McCaslin, Ph.D. | © TSHA

Handbook of Texas Logo

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.

Currently Exists

Yes

Place type

Polk County is classified as a County

Altitude Range

68 ft – 484 ft

Size

Land area does not include water surface area, whereas total area does

  • Land Area: 1,057.1 mi²
  • Total Area: 1,109.7 mi²

Temperature

January mean minimum: 39.6°F
July mean maximum: 93.7°F

Rainfall, 2019

51.5 inches

Population Count, 2019

51,353

Civilian Labor Count, 2019

17,607

Unemployment, 2019

9.8%

Property Values, 2019

$5,036,760,023 USD

Per-Capita Income, 2019

$39,438 USD

Retail Sales, 2019

$510,272,356 USD

Wages, 2019

$124,542,524 USD

Polk County

Highlighted:
  • Polk County
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Place Type Population (Year/Source) Currently Exists
Town 40 (2009) Yes
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Town 572 (2010) Yes
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Town 100 (2009) Yes
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Town 1,200 (2009) Yes
Town 35 (2009) Yes
Town 53 (2009) Yes
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Town 50 (2009) Yes
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Town 425 (2021) Yes
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Town 50 (2009) Yes
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Town 1,480 (2021) Yes
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Town 350 (2009) Yes
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Town 320 (2009) Yes
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Town 200 (2009) Yes
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Town 258 (2021) Yes
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Town 20 (2009) Yes
Town 20 (2009) Yes
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Town 684 (2021) Yes
Town 25 (2009) Yes
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Town 24 (2009) Yes
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Lake Yes
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Town 500 (2009) Yes
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Town 5,829 (2021) Yes
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Town 25 (2009) Yes
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Town 160 (2009) Yes
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Town 25 (2009) Yes
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Town 5 (2009) Yes
Town 3,143 (2021) Yes
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Town 15 (2009) Yes
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Town 1,060 (2021) Yes
Town 53 (2009) Yes
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Town 350 (2009) Yes
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Town 120 (2009) Yes
Town 80 (2009) Yes
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Town 69 (2021) Yes
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Town 25 (2009) Yes
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Town 7,295 (2021) Yes
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