About Polk County PDF Print E-mail
    Polk County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 483,924. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for the county is 561,606. The county seat is Bartow, Florida. Its largest city is Lakeland, Florida. The center of population of Florida is located in the town of Lake Wales.

Polk County became Florida's 39th county on February 8, 1861, when the State of Florida divided Hillsborough County into eastern and western halves. The eastern half was named Polk, in honor of the 11th President of the United States, James Knox Polk. Though not necessarily the reason for Polk County's name, Polk was sworn in as president on the day after Florida's statehood (March 3, 1845).

Following the Civil War, the county commission established the county seat on 120 acres donated in the central part of the county. Bartow, the county seat, was named after Francis S. Bartow, a confederate Colonel from Georgia who was the first confederate officer to die in battle during the first battle of the Civil War. Col. Bartow was buried in Savannah, GA with military honors, and promoted posthumously to the rank of brigadier general. Fort Blount , as Bartow was then known, in a move to honor one of the first fallen heroes of the Confederacy, was one of several towns and counties in the South that changed their name to Bartow. The first courthouse built in Bartow was constructed in 1867. It was replaced twice, in 1884 and in 1908. As the third courthouse to stand on the site, the present structure houses the Polk County Historical Museum and Genealogical Library.

In 1914, the county issued a $1.5 million bond to pave a number of roads. That bond issue was considerable for those days, and allowed for 9-foot-wide roads to start from Bartow to Mulberry, Lake Wales, Fort Meade, Winter Haven, Lakeland and Auburndale. According to historical reports, then-county commission clerk W.S. Wev had the idea of erecting an arch over every paved road at its entrance to Polk County, proclaiming that the motorist was about to enter "Imperial Polk County." The name has since remained.

 
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Local

  • Polk Felony Cases

    The following is a portion of the felony criminal case dispositions filed in Bartow for the month of June, 2008. For a complete explanation refer to the court files because the circumstances of each case vary. If the Judge withheld adjudication the person has not been judged guilty by the Court.

  • Second Fire at Same House in Winter Haven Raises Suspicions

    WINTER HAVEN | Fire afflicted an empty Winter Haven home for the second time in several weeks Thursday night, and now fire officials are investigating the incident as "suspicious."<br>Thick black smoke poured into the air as firefighters arrived at the house on Lake Howard Drive about 10 p.m., Deputy Chief Jim Davis said.

Florida

  • Second Fire at Same House in Winter Haven Raises Suspicions

    WINTER HAVEN | Fire afflicted an empty Winter Haven home for the second time in several weeks Thursday night, and now fire officials are investigating the incident as "suspicious."<br>Thick black smoke poured into the air as firefighters arrived at the house on Lake Howard Drive about 10 p.m., Deputy Chief Jim Davis said.

  • Polk Felony Cases

    The following is a portion of the felony criminal case dispositions filed in Bartow for the month of June, 2008. For a complete explanation refer to the court files because the circumstances of each case vary. If the Judge withheld adjudication the person has not been judged guilty by the Court.

East Polk

  • Protection Sought For Fish Habitat

    The federal government is trying to protect critical habitat for the endangered smalltooth sawfish along Florida's southwest coast.<br>The rule, proposed Thursday, seeks to protect areas essential for the conservation and recovery of the sawfish ó their population has declined by 95 percent.

  • Feds Still Seeking Missing Ex-Agent

    The State Department has renewed an appeal to Iran for information about a former FBI agent, Floridian Robert Levinson, who went missing in Iranian territory 20 months ago.

Business

  • Florida's Budget Deficit Now At $2.1 Bil.

    TALLAHASSEE | Florida's budget gap grew to $2.1 billion on Friday as economists said the state's economy has some rough times ahead as it is buffeted by a global recession, but that it should begin a recovery in early 2010.

  • Polk's Jobless Rate Hits 11-Year-High

    LAKELAND | Polk County's jobless rate swelled to 8.1 percent in October, the highest level in 11 years, according to the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation.<br>The county had 5,700 fewer jobs than it did in October 2007 as steep job losses continued to plague nearly every segment of the local economy.

“Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.”

Albert Einstein