Polk County, Texas
History, Records, Facts and Genealogy

Court Records | Vital Records | CENSUS Records | TAX Records | Military Records | Church & Cemetery |
Maps & Atlases | Genealogy Addresses | Genealogy Related Sites |
Polk County Facts

Polk County was created in March 30, 1846 and formed from Liberty County. Polk County was named for James Knox Polk, the eleventh president of the United States. The County Seat is Livingston. The Official County website is located at http://www.co.polk.tx.us. See also Extended History for more historical details.

Areas adjacent to Polk County are Angelina County (north), Tyler County (east), Hardin County (southeast), Liberty County (south), San Jacinto County (southwest), Trinity County (northwest)

  • Polk County, Texas History Books at Amazon.com
  • Family History Library - The largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world.
  • Search Historical Newspapers from Texas (1802 - 1993) - Quickly find names and keywords in over 450 million articles, obituaries, marriage notices, birth announcements and other items published in over 2,800 historical U.S. newspapers. New content added monthly!
  • Stories, Memories & Histories - Stories and histories compiled by others researching a person or area can be an amazing source of information about your ancestors. Not only do they generally contain dates and places of vital events like birth, marriage, and death, but they often relate stories and memories that help you really get to know the character of your ancestors.
  • Search Texas Historical Records - Databases include Court, Land, Wills & Financial Records; Birth, Marriage & Death Records; Voter Lists & Census Records; Immigration & Emigration Records; Obituary Records; Military Records; Family Tree Records; Pictures; Stories, Memories & Histories; Directories & Member Lists and much more....

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Polk County Court Records

See Also Texas Land Records, Marriage Records, Court & Probate Records

Researchers often overlook the importance of court records, probate records, and land records as a source of family history information.

PLEASE READ FIRST!!!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.

Polk County Clerk has Court Records from 1848, Land Records from 1846, Probate Records from 1840, Marriage Records from 1846 and Birth/Death Records from 1903 is located at 101 Church Street, West, or P.O. Drawer 2119, Livingston, TX 77351; (936) 327-8398 .

The County Clerk's Office is the record keeper of the county. The county records include birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, brand registrations, DD214s (military discharges), land / real estate / property records, probate and civil filings.

There are a few online databases for Court, Land and Probate Records which include: Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997, Texas Deaths, 1964-98, Texas Marriage Collection, 1814-1909 & 1966-2002, and Texas Divorce Index, 1968-2002. You may also search the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) which does cover Texas. Many pioneers and settelers bought land from the government instead of individuals.

Below is a list of online resources for Polk County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Polk County Court Records by clicking the link below:

  • Order County Court, Civil or Criminal Records Online
  • Polk County, Texas Court Books at Amazon.com
  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM) which covers the State of Texas. Many pioneers and settelers bought land from the government instead of individuals.
  • Court, Land, Wills & Financial - Court records are an often overlooked, yet very valuable tool for finding information to assist you in your research. Land records, such as deeds, allow you to tie an ancestor to a specific place at a point in time. Other court records like those dealing with finances and estates often list related family members or give interesting details like the total value of property owned by your ancestors to add interest to your family history.
  • Immigration & Emigration - As our ancestors moved from one country to another, details about their lives were recorded on passenger lists and government documents. Immigration and emigration records can help you learn where your ancestors originally came from, where they went, when they left, who they traveled with, and more.
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Polk County Vital Records

See Also Vital Records in Texas

Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information.

Texas Department of State Health Services, 1100 W. 49th Street, Austin, TX 78756; (888) 963-7111 or (512) 458-7111; Fax: (512) 458-7711. Please allow up to approximately 6-8 weeks for processing of all type of certificates when ordered through the mail, or 2-5 Days when you order through VitalChek Express Certificate Services. The Vital Records Department has the following records:

  • Birth Certificates: Birth records maintained by Bureau of Vital Statistics, Dept. of Health since 1903 through the present. For births that occurred within the past 75 years, copies can be requested only by the immediate family of the person whose name is on the birth certificate. Cost: The cost of a birth record is $22.00. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep $22.00 for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
  • Death Certificates: Death records maintained by Bureau of Vital Statistics, Dept. of Health since 1903 through the present. For deaths that occurred in the past 25 years, copies can be requested only by immediate family members of the deceased. Cost: The cost of a certified death certificate is $20.00 for the first copy and $3.00 for each additional copy issued at the same time for the same certificate. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep $20.00 for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
  • Marriage & Divorce Certificates: Marriage Verifications from Jan 1966 and Divorce Verifications from Jan 1968. Certified copies of marriage licenses or divorce decrees are only available from the county clerk (marriage) or district clerk (divorce) in the county or district in which the event occurred. Marriage verification or divorce verification letters can now be ordered Online. Cost is $20 - Fee is for verification only.

ORDERING

  • Order Online: You can also order Order Electronically Online to obtain a certified copy of a birth, marriage, death or divorce record with a credit or debit card and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering from VitalChek Express Certificate Service.
  • Order In Person: The certificates may be ordered by coming into this office.   If you want the copy the same day, our hours for same day service are 8:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M. Monday – Friday. The Texas Vital Statistics Office in Austin is located at 1100 W. 49th Street, Austin, TX 78756.
  • Order By Mail: Mail a check or money order (no cash) payable to the "Texas Vital Records " along with the necessary information to the following address: Texas Vital Records, Department of State Health Services, PO Box 12040. Print Aplication for Birth Certificates, Death Certificates and Marriage & Divorce Certificates.

There are a few online marriage databases which include: Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997, Texas Deaths, 1964-98, Texas Marriage Collection, 1814-1909 & 1966-2002, and Texas Divorce Index, 1968-2002. Below is a list of online resources for Polk County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Polk County Vital Records by clicking the link below:

  • VitalChek Express Certificate Service - Some documents are just too important to wait six weeks for. With VitalChek Express Certificate Service you won’t have to. VitalChek is the fast and convenient way to order certified government-issued vital records online. They make it easy for you to purchase the documents to which you are legally entitled. Beware of other online services that do not have relationships directly with the agencies that store your vital records. VitalChek's order process usually takes less than 10 minutes --And you can select express courier service for even faster delivery when time is running out.
  • Click Here to Search the Social Security Death Index for FREEicon - Search over 82 million death records and get genealogical information crucial to your family research. New content added weekly! Most comprehensive SSDI site online!
  • Research Death records In The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of historical Texas newspaper articles about deaths. Search for local articles about an old family friend that died many years ago or a celebrity that committed suicide. Historical newspapers contain a wealth of information about the deceased.
  • Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-10, 1926-29icon - Browse by county, then year, then surname, beginning with the first letters of the last name of the person you seek. If you're unsure of the year or location, use the search box under the browse menu. These records can be searched by father's first and last names, mother's first and maiden names, year, county, and city. The certificates include the child and parents' full names, residence, occupations, age, time and date of the birth, and the name of the physician attending the birth.
  • Texas Death Certificates, 1890-1976icon - These records are searchable by first and last name of the deceased, year, county, and city. A certificate may include the decedent's date, place, and cause of death; age; date of birth; last residence; and marital status. If known, it will also include occupation, birth place, parents' names, and place of burial. Browse by county, then year, then surname, beginning with the first letters of the last name of the person you seek. If unsure of the year or location, use the search box under the browse menu.
  • Polk County, Texas Birth, Marriage & Death Books at Amazon.com
  • Birth, Marriage & Death - Vital records (births, deaths, marriages, and divorces) mark the milestones of our lives and are the foundation of family history research. Vital records, usually kept by a civic authority, can give you a more complete picture of your ancestor, help you distinguish between two people with the same name, and help you find links to a new generation.
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Polk County Census Records

See Also Research In Census Records & Statewide Records that exist for Texas

Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable

  Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for Polk County, Texas are 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930.

The Texas State Library holds microfilm editions for all of Texas' federal censuses. Although the 1850, 1860, and part of the 1870 mortality schedules have been published, all the original mortality schedules are at the Texas State Library and on microfilm The 1830 territorial census of Miller County, Arkansas, enumerates an area that is in today's Texas boundaries. The remaining 1890 population schedules which exist for Texas include: Ellis County (Justice Precinct 6, Mountain Peak, and Ovilla Precinct); Hood County (Precinct 5); Rusk County (No. 6 and Justice Precinct No. 7); Trinity County (town of Trinity and Justice Precinct 2); and Kaufman County (Kaufman). Although Greer County in present-day Oklahoma functioned as part of Texas between 1886 and 1896, the 1890 census for this county was enumerated under Oklahoma Territory.

Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your family tree in Polk County, Texas are Industry and Agriculture Schedules availible for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. Slave Schedules exist for 1850 & 1860. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. There are free downloadable and printable Census forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms and U.K. Census Extraction Forms

Below is a list of online resources for Polk County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Polk County Census Records by clicking the link below:

  • Polk County, Texas Census Books at Amazon.com
  • Census & Voter Lists - A census is an official list of the people in a particular area at a given time, while voter lists show those who were registered to vote in a certain area. The valuable information found on census records helps you to understand your family in their time and place. Voter Lists serve as a confirmation of residence in between the years that the census was taken.
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Polk County Maps & Atlases

See Also Research In State Map Collections

Genealogy Atlas has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Arkansas and other states.

You can view rotating animated maps for Texas showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps

You can view rotating animated maps for Texas showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states and State Department of Transportation Maps at County Maps.

Below is a list of online resources for Polk County Maps. Email us with websites containing Polk County Maps by clicking the link below:

  • Texas General Land Office Map Collection
  • Polk County, Texas Map Books at Amazon.com
  • Maps, Atlases & Gazetteers - Maps are an invaluable part of family history research, especially if you live far from where your ancestor lived. Because political boundaries often changed, historic maps are critical in helping you discover the precise location of your ancestor's hometown, what land they owned, who their neighbors were, and more.
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Polk County Military Records

See Also Military Records in Texas

Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.

The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.

Below is a list of online resources for Polk County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Polk County Military Records by clicking the link below:

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Polk County Tax Records

See Also Research In Tax Records

Texas tax records constitute one of the most complete sets of available records generated at the county level (by the Commissioners Court) because these documents are maintained by the state. These lists may only include approximately sixty percent of eligible males over the age of twenty-one. Persons exempted from taxes included native Americans, "idiots," "incompetents," and those exempted because of age. This final category of exemptions varied over time. Years without an older age exemption were 1840 and 1862-70. Between 1841-44 exemptions began at forty-five years; in 1845 and from 1850-61 the upward age was set at fifty years. In 1837, 1848, and 1849 the limit was established as fifty-five, and in 1846-7, and 1871 the upward limit was set at sixty years.

Texas Ad Valorem (poll, personal, and real property) tax records for 1836 through 1976 are available in microfilm at the Texas State Library from the date of respective county organization; these are arranged by county and date and are somewhat alphabetized within each division. Microfilm copies are housed in the Genealogy Section. Tax lists for the various counties from creation to 1901 may be borrowed through interlibrary loan. Tax records through 1901-1947 are readily accessible, but not on interlibrary loan. Those for 1948 through 1976 can be obtained upon request. 

Below is a list of online resources for Polk County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Polk County Tax Records by clicking the link below:

  • Polk County, Texas Tax Books at Amazon.com
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Polk County Genealogical Addresses

See Also Other Texas Genealogical Addresses

The Repositories in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be more generalized and over look the smaller details that local societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy section and may have some resources that are not located at archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All these places are vitally important to the family genealogist and must not be passed over.

Below is a list of online resources for Polk County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Polk County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:

  • Polk County Heritage Society, 207 N. Beatty St., Livingston, TX 77351
  • Texas State Library and Archives Commission, P.O. Box 12927, Austin, TX 78711-2927
    Holdings under the auspices of the Texas State Library are divided. Most important for genealogical research are the Texas State Archives with its Local Records Department, the Records Management Division, and the Information Services Division, which includes a Genealogy Section and a Reference Department.
    The Genealogy Section maintains vertical ties that contain notes, clippings, pamphlets, and correspondence on Texas families. These files may be accessed in person, by phone (512-463-5463, forty-five minute limit), or through correspondence.
  • Texas Genealogical Society, 2505 Beluche Drive, Galveston 77551
  • Texas Historical Commision
    The Texas Historical Commission (THC) is the state agency for historic preservation. THC staff consults with citizens and organizations to preserve Texas' architectural, archeological and cultural landmarks. The agency is recognized nationally for its preservation programs.
  • Newspapers & Periodicals - The Newspapers & Periodicals Collection lets you discover a wealth of information about your ancestors from many historical newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals. These types of sources can often supplement public records and provide information that is not recorded anywhere else. Here, you can learn more about your ancestor's possible daily activities by placing them in the context of their time.
  • Directories & Member Lists - Directories and member lists are typically compilations of information about people who belonged to various associations and groups or lived within city boundaries. They can be thought of as the predecessors to the modern-day phone book and usually list names, addresses, and sometimes the occupations of your ancestors.
  • Texas Genealogical Society Books at Amazon.com
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Polk County Church & Cemeteries

See Also Church & Cemetery Records in Texas

Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.

There are many churches and cemeteries in Polk County. Some transcriptions are online. A great site is the Polk County Tombstone Transcription Project.

During Texas's colonization period Roman Catholics were the most numerous, but early citizens included those representing other religious faiths such as Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Christian or Disciples of Christ.

Many cemetery records have been collected and transcribed, including the largest of which is multi-volumes compilation by the DAR and two volumes for Peters Colonists and descendants. The DAR collection, also microfilmed, is available at the Texas State Library and through the FHL.

Some Texas county historical and genealogical societies have published local cemetery and/funeral home records. These are normally available for purchase through the respective society. Two references can help determine which cemeteries have been recorded: Kim Parsons', A Reference to Texas Cemetery Records (Humble, Tex.: by author, 1988), arranged by county; and Sharry Crofford-Gould's, Texas Cemetery Inscriptions: A Source Index (San Antonio, Tex.: Limited Editions, 1977).

Below is a list of online resources for Polk County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Polk County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:

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Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

 

The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.

When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Polk County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Polk County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:

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Extended History

 

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).

Polk County, named after President James K. Polk, was one of twenty-three counties formed by the first state legislature of Texas in 1846. The boundaries established on March 30 closely followed those of the old northern division of Liberty Municipality, a subdivision of the Department of Nacogdoches established by the Mexican government in 1830. On August 13, 1870, the part of Polk County west of the Trinity became San Jacinto County. The present area of Polk County was fixed on March 11, 1875, when a portion of Trinity County was annexed. Livingston, formerly Springfield, was selected by a vote as the county seat in 1846, and the first commissioners' court met there in September. The town is still the county seat. The new county filled rapidly with American settlers between 1835 and 1860. The first communities were concentrated on the Trinity River, but others quickly appeared along the primary creeks. Important pioneers include Pierre J. Menard, who represented Liberty Municipality in the Consultation at San Felipe, and George T. Wood, governor of Texas from 1847 to 1849.

Plantations dominated the county economically and politically before the Civil War. The population of the county in 1860 was 8,300, with a slave majority of 4,198. The county produced 9,307 bales of cotton in 1859. Polk County supported Hardin R. Runnels against Sam Houston in 1859, then returned an overwhelming majority for presidential candidate John C. Breckinridge in 1860 and secession in 1861. Eight companies from Polk County served the Confederacy, including an Indian unit led by planter and Confederate major Alexander Hamilton Washington. Because it had been dependent on the plantation system the county was economically fragmented after the war. The number of farms nearly doubled, while the population stayed about the same and agricultural production decreased sharply. The corn crop declined by 30 percent between 1859 and 1869, and cotton exports in the same period fell by half. Antebellum corn production was not equaled again until 1900, and cotton not until 1940. Cattle and hogs were a third fewer in 1869 than in 1859, but livestock, including mules, horses, and sheep, became a source of steady income through the turn of the century. The average value of a farm including land and buildings plummeted between 1859 and 1869 from $7,377 to $501 and stayed low long after the turn of the century; in 1929 a total of 2,300 farms in Polk County averaged $1,911 in value.

The population of Polk County grew steadily from 1880 to 1940, when it peaked at 20,635, then declined sharply until 1960, when it bottomed at 16,194. The trend then reversed once more, and by 1980 the population increased by half, to 24,407. The number of white inhabitants, a majority since 1870, closely follows the pattern for total population. The nonwhite population, primarily African Americans, decreased by almost 40 percent with the formation of San Jacinto County, but increased again until 1940 before declining gradually to 3,861 in 1980 and 3,896 in 1990. The Indians resident in Polk County have remained only a few hundred in number. There are no large towns within the county; of the incorporated areas, Livingston increased from 1,851 inhabitants in 1940 to 5,019 by 1990, when Corrigan had 1,794 residents, Onalaska 728, Goodrich 239, and Seven Oaks 171.

Despite an overall increase in rural population, agriculture has played an increasingly minor role in the economy of Polk County. From a peak in 1929 of 2,300 farms employing 3,191 people, the number of active farming operations fell to 456 in 1978 before recovering to 530 employing less than 200 in 1982. No cotton production has been reported since 1969, and only 3,518 bushels of corn were grown in 1982. Cattle remained a steady enterprise, with 18,894 recorded in 1982, but hogs and sheep practically vanished after World War II. Horses and mules were numerous at the turn of the century, but in 1982 only 619 horses, and no mules, were found in the county. Products such as wool, sugar, molasses, and sweet potatoes, common in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, were no longer cultivated; instead, many farms lay fallow or grew hay, 16,380 tons of which was produced in 1981. In 1990 the production of peaches, blueberries, and vegetables was becoming significant.

Lumber production occupies much of the land in Polk County. In the twentieth century the value of the lumber industry increased remarkably. The greatest increase came after World War II, but the lumber boom helped ease the impact of the Great Depression on the county. Although agricultural employment decreased, jobs in the timber and related service industries doubled between 1930 and 1940. Manufactures, mostly lumber, totaled $859,657 in value in 1900, then $2.9 million in 1939; by 1977 the timber industry in Polk County produced $64.4 million in manufactures and employed almost 1,000 people. The rise in timber prices contributed greatly to the appreciation of land values; in 1982 only 9 percent of the available farmland was cultivated, but farmsteads averaged $264,994 in value, despite a mean size of only 305 acres. In 1990 Polk County was the leading Texas county in lumber products and Christmas trees. The county also yields some oil and gas: 703,007 barrels of crude oil and 1.8 billion cubic feet of gas-well gas were produced in 1982; crude production in 1990 was 1,256,622 barrels.

Development of industry in Polk County was facilitated by a great improvement in transportation. Early commerce depended on a few roads or the Trinity River; by 1841 Drew's Landing and Smithfield were busy shipping points. The Houston, East and West Texas Railway was completed north across Polk County in 1881, and the tracks have been used by the Southern Pacific since 1961. Many small lines, such as the Moscow, Camden and San Augustine, were built by lumber companies during the timber boom, but most have been abandoned. The Trinity and Sabine established Corrigan in 1881, then became part of an east-west line of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas across the county in 1884. The Waco, Beaumont, Trinity and Sabine acquired the line in 1923, along with the Beaumont and Great Northern, first completed through Onalaska to Livingston in 1908. The rails from Corrigan east were abandoned in 1936, and from Livingston west in 1949, but, by the end of World War II, U.S. highways 59 and 287, through Livingston and Corrigan, were paved, and U.S. 190 from Livingston to Woodville, in neighboring Tyler County, was hard-surfaced by 1949. Only 2,551 motor vehicles were registered in Polk County in 1944; in 1990 the total of 28,311 reflected the effect of highway development in the county.

Polk County developed its utilities during the period of increasing population between 1880 and 1940. The Livingston Telephone Company was organized on August 3, 1903, with forty telephones in service. Several private and municipal companies provided phone service to the county in the 1980s. The Livingston Power Plant began providing electricity at night in 1905 from a small wood-fired steam engine. Several local businessmen purchased the plant in 1907 and initiated daylight service in 1909. The Livingston Municipal Light Department still operates, but most rural households get electricity from Gulf States Utilities or Texas Power and Light Company. Entex, Incorporated, sells natural gas to county residents.

Education in the county began in 1843, when the Masons in Swartwout allowed their lodge to be used for a schoolhouse; they reopened the school when they moved to Livingston in 1849. Other areas of the county had such private schools until public schools were begun. In 1982 Polk County had six school districts with six elementary, two middle, and five high schools. Only 14.6 percent of the inhabitants over the age of twenty-four had finished high school in 1950, but by 1980 the figure had improved to 46 percent. The county has two newspapers, the Corrigan Times and the Polk County Enterprise. The parent publication of the Enterprise was the East Texas Pinery, originally printed in Moscow in 1881. The Enterprise is now published in Livingston, where the first newspaper in the county, the Rising Sun, began in 1858. In 1980 the majority of the fifty-nine churches in the county were Southern Baptist, Baptist Missionary, and United Methodist. The county was voted dry in 1908, and liquor is still prohibited in some precincts.

Politics in Polk County remained Democratic from Reconstruction to the 1950s. The county voted for Edmund J. Davis, Radical Republican candidate for governor, in 1869, but repudiated that vote by supporting Richard Coke, a Democrat, for governor in 1873. San Jacinto County, where most of Polk County's freedmen lived, separated from Polk County in 1870, and with it went most Republican support. A clear measure of the impact on the Polk County electorate is that the minority vote against Davis in 1869 equals almost exactly the majority returned against Republican Ulysses S. Grant in 1872. From 1956 through 1992, the county has supported only three Republican candidates for president: Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, Richard Nixon in 1972, and Ronald Reagan in 1984. Edwin P. Hobby, a native of Moscow, was governor of Texas from 1917 to 1921.

Polk County remains predominantly rural, but timber rather than agriculture has become the main enterprise. Rural inhabitants increased three times faster then urban residents within the county between 1970 and 1980, when 80 percent of the population lived in unincorporated areas. The lumber and related service industries absorb the greater part of the new work force. Polk County led the state for timber production with 38.4 million cubic feet, mostly pine, in 1981, but the next year was 218th among the 254 Texas counties in agricultural production. In 1990 Polk County had a population of 30,687.

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