Polk

Formed February 8, 1861 (39^th county)

Polk County (725,041), Bartow (19,518), Lakeland (112,640)

A Modern style concrete courthouse is located on Broadway between Church and Davidson.  This structure was built in 1987.  United States Highway 17 is five blocks north of the site.  W. Wade Setlife & Associates are the designers.  A County Administration Building was constructed in 1990.  The courthouse is part of a complex of government buildings.  Courthouses also were built in 1884 and 1909 in Bartow but Fort Blount was the county seat until 1867.  The county was named for President James K. Polk.  The county seat’s name comes from Confederate General Francis Bartow.  Polk County was the birthplace of 2 Florida Governors, Spessar L. Holland and Lawton M. Chiles, Jr.  Hillsborough County was split on February 8, 1861 to form Polk County as the 39^th county. 

Polk County government consists of a manager, sheriff, and appraiser (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Twenty-five Circuit Court Judges serve Polk, Hardee, and Highlands counties and Nine County Court Judges, clerk, and county attorney serve Polk County (judicial.) The county is located in central Florida between Orlando, Florida, east, and Tampa, Florida, west.  The center of the county is 12 miles Northeast of Bartow nearer Wahneta.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Lake, Orange, Osceola, Okeechobee, Highlands, Hardee, Manatee, Hillsborough, Pasco, and Sumter counties. 

The area of the county is 1875 square miles.  It is 4 out of 67 counties in the state.  It ranks 9 out of 67 in population in the state.  It has a density of 386.7 persons per square mile making it 21 out of 67 in the state.  Polk County has 39.0% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 4 crosses east to west from Osceola County to Hillsborough County.  United States Highway 17 comes in from the east, Osceola County, and goes to the south, Hardee County.  United States Highway 27 crosses north to south from Lake County to Highlands County.  United States Highway 92 is joined with United States Highway 17 from Osceola County, splits, and goes west into Hillsborough County.  United States Highway 98 enters from Pasco County, northwest, joins United States Highway 27 and travels south into Highlands County.  The county is shaped like a triangle pointing southwest.  Bartow is in the southwest quarter of the county.  Lakeland is in the northwest quarter of the county near the border.  Bartow is the county seat and Lakeland is the largest city.  Bartow is 2.7% of the county population while Lakeland is 15.5% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced BAR-TOE.  This county is in the Lakeland-Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area.