Polk County, Missouri

 

Founding: 1835
Parent counties: Greene, Pulaski, St. Clair, and unorganized territory

Namesake: James Polk, U.S. president
Seat: Bolivar (1835–)

Land area: 636 square miles

Population (2020): 31,519

Population (historic): 8,449 (1840); 9,995 (1860); 15,734 (1880); 23,255 (1900); 17,803 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1840; 1850–1900; 1960–2020

Subdivisions: Five cities; four villages; 22 townships

National Register listings: Four

Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 1,464 (10.8%)
Pre-1940 housing survival rate: 33.8%
Pre-1860 housing survival rate (1940): 2.1%

Farm housing in disrepair (1950): 14.8%

Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950): 10%

Average farmhouse value (1930): $858
Average outbuilding value (1930): $616
Average farmhouse size (1940): 4.5 rooms
Number of farms (1920): 3,405
Average farm size (1920): 78.8 acres
Sources of settlement: Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Ohio
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Bolivar

Namesake: Bolivar, Tennessee

Founding: 1835 (platting); 1836 (post office); 1847 (incorporation)

Population (2020): 10,679

Population (historic): 409 (1860); 516 (1880); 1,869 (1900); 2,256 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1860–1870; 1880–2020
Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 247 (5.6%)
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