Polk

Formed January 5, 1835 (48^th county)

Polk County (31,521), Bolivar (10,666)                

The classy 1906 stone Classical Revival courthouse was constructed on a square at Broadway, Springfield, Jackson, and Main streets.  Missouri State Highway 32 is Broadway in the town.  A working clock tower and a Miss Liberty statue are on top of the building.  Robert G. Kirsch provided the designs.  The county was created on January 5, 1835 from Greene County as the 48^th county.  It later gave up land for Dade and Hickory counties.  There was an earlier version dating from 1842.  Bolivar has always been the county seat.  The county is named for United States President James K. Polk prior to his presidency.  The county seat is named for Bolivar, Tennessee. 

Polk County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, a collector, a coroner, an assessor and a clerk (executive).  It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.)  One Circuit Court Judge serves Polk, Benton, Dallas, Hickory, and Webster counties and Two County Court Judges and a court clerk serve Polk County (judicial.)  The county is in the southwest part of Missouri.  Springfield, Missouri is directly to the south of the county.  The county center is 7.4 miles Northeast of Bolivar.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Hickory, Dallas, Greene, Dade, Cedar, and Saint Clair counties. 

The area of the county is 637 square miles.  It is 45 out of 115 in the state.  It ranks 36 out of 115 in population in the state.  It has a density of 49.5 persons per square mile making it 38 out of 115 in the state.  Polk County has 42.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  There are no Interstates or United States Highways in the county.  The county is an overall rectangle.  Bolivar is slightly west of the center of the county.  Bolivar is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 33.8% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced BOLL-I-VER.  This county is in the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area.