Polk County, North Carolina

Polk County
County
Polk County Courthouse
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of North Carolina
North Carolina's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 35°17′N82°10′W / 35.28°N 82.17°W / 35.28; -82.17
Country	United States
State	North Carolina
Founded	1855
Named for	Colonel William Polk
Seat	Columbus
Largest municipality	Tryon
Area
• Total	238.45 sq mi (617.6 km2)
• Land	237.69 sq mi (615.6 km2)
• Water	0.76 sq mi (2.0 km2)  0.32%
Population  (2020)
• Total	19,328
• Estimate  (2023)	20,060
• Density	81.32/sq mi (31.40/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	11th
Website	www.polknc.gov

Polk County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,328. ^[1] Its county seat is Columbus. ^[2]

History

The county was formed in 1855 from parts of Henderson and Rutherford counties. It was named for William Polk, a colonel in the American Revolutionary War. The Tryon International Equestrian Center, close to the community of Mill Spring was the location of the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games. ^[3]

Geography

Interactive map of Polk County

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 238.45 square miles (617.6 km²), of which 237.69 square miles (615.6 km²) is land and 0.76 square miles (2.0 km²) (0.32%) is water. ^[4] It is the fifth-smallest county in North Carolina by total area.

Polk County Elevation

The county's largest body of water is Lake Adger, located about 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Columbus. Lake Adger is a reservoir formed by the damming of the Green River, which flows from west to east across the county. The northern extent of the river's watershed forms the northern border of the county.

The elevation in the county ranges from just under 800 feet (240 m) near the confluence of the Green River and Broad River to over 3,200 feet (980 m) on Tryon Peak and Wildcat Spur, the highest peak in the county. Polk County is divided into two physiographic regions; the Blue Ridge Mountains in the western third of the county and Piedmont for the eastern two-thirds. Since it is in a transition zone between the two regions, Polk County is often referred to as being in the foothills.

State and local protected areas

• Anne Elizabeth Suratt Nature Center
• Bradley Nature Preserve at Alexander's Ford (part)
• Chimney Rock State Park (part)
• Green River Game Lands (part) ^[5]
• Pearson's Falls
• Shunkawauken Falls

Major water bodies

• Broad River
• Colt Creek
• Cove Creek
• Green River
• North Pacolet River
• Hughes Creek
• Lake Adger
• Little White Oak Creek
• Ostin Creek
• Vaughns Creek
• Walnut Creek
• White Oak Creek

Adjacent counties

• Rutherford County – northeast
• Spartanburg County, South Carolina – south-southeast
• Greenville County, South Carolina – south-southwest
• Henderson County – west

Major highways

• I-26
• US 74
• US 176
• NC 9
• NC 108

The interchange for I-26 and the US 74 freeway is located in Columbus. Interstate 26 provides Polk County with access to Asheville and Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Polk County is also served by an additional non-freeway U.S. Highway: US 176. This was the primary highway linking Saluda and Tryon to Hendersonville and Spartanburg, SC. prior to the delayed completion of I-26 in 1976. Two North Carolina routes, NC 108 and NC 9, traverse the county as well. NC 108 begins in Rutherfordton and travels west through Columbus and ends at US 176 in Tryon. Oriented north-to-south, NC 9 connects Black Mountain and Lake Lure to Spartanburg and points southeast via Polk County. NC 108 and NC 9 intersect at the unincorporated town of Mill Spring.

Polk County and Saluda are infamous among railroad enthusiasts for the Saluda Grade, the steepest standard-gauge mainline railway grade in the United States. ^[6] Norfolk Southern suspended freight traffic indefinitely along this route in December 2001. The track remains in place, but are cut near Flat Rock, North Carolina and Landrum, South Carolina.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	4,043		—
1870	4,319		6.8%
1880	5,062		17.2%
1890	5,902		16.6%
1900	7,004		18.7%
1910	7,640		9.1%
1920	8,832		15.6%
1930	10,216		15.7%
1940	11,874		16.2%
1950	11,627		−2.1%
1960	11,395		−2.0%
1970	11,735		3.0%
1980	12,984		10.6%
1990	14,416		11.0%
2000	18,324		27.1%
2010	20,510		11.9%
2020	19,328		−5.8%
2023 (est.)	20,060	[1]	3.8%
U.S. Decennial Census [7] 1790–1960 [8] 1900–1990 [9] 1990–2000 [10] 2010 [11] 2020 [1]

2020 census

Polk County racial composition ^[12]

Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	16,716	86.49%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	689	3.56%
Native American	51	0.26%
Asian	60	0.31%
Pacific Islander	7	0.04%
Other/Mixed	779	4.03%
Hispanic or Latino	1,026	5.31%

As of the 2020 census, there were 19,328 people, 9,071 households, and 5,550 families residing in the county.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, ^[13] there were 18,324 people, 7,908 households, and 5,337 families residing in the county. The population density was 77 people per square mile (30 people/km²). There were 9,192 housing units at an average density of 39 units per square mile (15 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.26% White, 5.89% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.63% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. 3.01% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 7,908 households, out of which 23.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.30% were married couples living together, 7.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.50% were non-families. 28.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.78.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 20.10% under the age of 18, 5.80% from 18 to 24, 24.20% from 25 to 44, 26.30% from 45 to 64, and 23.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 90.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,259, and the median income for a family was $45,096. Males had a median income of $29,375 versus $23,070 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,804. 10.10% of the population and 6.40% of families were below the poverty line. 11.70% of those under the age of 18 and 8.80% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Ancestry/ethnicity

As of the 2000 census, ^[13] the largest self-reported ancestry/ethnicity groups in Polk County were: ^[14]

Ancestry/ethnicity	Percent (2000)
English	17%
German	13%
Irish	13%
Scotch-Irish	7.0%
African American	5.89%
Scottish	4.0%
Italian	3.0%

Law and government

Polk County is a member of the Isothermal Planning and Development Commission regional council of governments. Sheila Whitmire is the current (as of 2012) Registrar of Deeds ^[15] and Patrick McCool serves as the current mayor of Columbus, the county seat. ^[16]

Government and politics

United States presidential election results for Polk County, North Carolina ^[17]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	7,689	62.22%	4,518	36.56%	151	1.22%
2016	6,768	61.90%	3,735	34.16%	431	3.94%
2012	6,236	60.03%	4,013	38.63%	140	1.35%
2008	5,990	56.71%	4,396	41.62%	176	1.67%
2004	5,140	56.98%	3,787	41.98%	94	1.04%
2000	5,074	61.11%	3,114	37.50%	115	1.39%
1996	3,516	52.04%	2,704	40.02%	536	7.93%
1992	3,448	45.77%	2,939	39.02%	1,146	15.21%
1988	3,874	60.31%	2,534	39.45%	15	0.23%
1984	4,046	64.73%	2,169	34.70%	36	0.58%
1980	3,021	53.86%	2,375	42.34%	213	3.80%
1976	2,605	44.82%	3,155	54.28%	52	0.89%
1972	3,121	67.31%	1,416	30.54%	100	2.16%
1968	2,550	45.89%	1,523	27.41%	1,484	26.71%
1964	2,765	47.82%	3,017	52.18%	0	0.00%
1960	2,856	50.84%	2,762	49.16%	0	0.00%
1956	2,823	52.77%	2,527	47.23%	0	0.00%
1952	2,561	48.30%	2,741	51.70%	0	0.00%
1948	1,636	40.99%	2,078	52.07%	277	6.94%
1944	1,678	41.76%	2,340	58.24%	0	0.00%
1940	1,528	38.37%	2,454	61.63%	0	0.00%
1936	1,794	41.58%	2,521	58.42%	0	0.00%
1932	1,421	36.98%	2,401	62.48%	21	0.55%
1928	1,873	53.68%	1,616	46.32%	0	0.00%
1924	1,445	47.05%	1,613	52.52%	13	0.42%
1920	1,326	49.35%	1,361	50.65%	0	0.00%
1916	750	52.45%	679	47.48%	1	0.07%
1912	153	11.50%	675	50.75%	502	37.74%

Polk County is notable as one of only two counties in the country that voted for Charles Even Hughes in 1916 and for James M. Cox in 1920 the other one is Manistee County, Michigan.

2016 elections

In the 2016 Republican Primary in Polk County, Donald Trump received 1,624 votes (or 46.2% of the total votes) followed by Ted Cruz who came in second with 1,135 votes (or 32.3% of the total votes). In the 2016 Democratic Primary, Bernie Sanders received 1,123 votes (48.7% of the total) whereas Hillary Clinton won 1,099 votes (47.7% of the total). ^[18] In the general election Donald Trump received 6,768 votes (or 61.9% of the total vote) whereas Hillary Clinton received 3,735 votes (34.2% of the vote) and Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson received 272 votes (2.5% of total votes in the county). ^[19]

Communities

Map of Polk County with municipal and township labels

City

• Saluda

Towns

• Columbus (county seat)
• Tryon (largest municipality)

Townships

• Columbus
• Cooper's Gap ("Sunny View")
• Green Creek
• Saluda
• Tryon
• White Oak ("Mill Spring")

See also

• List of counties in North Carolina
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Polk County, North Carolina

References

1. "QuickFacts: Polk County, North Carolina". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. "North Carolina to Host 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games". TheHorse.com. November 3, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
4. "2020 County Gazetteer Files – North Carolina". United States Census Bureau. August 23, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
5. "NCWRC Game Lands". www.ncpaws.org. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
6. Saluda Grade - North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program Archived November 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
7. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
8. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
9. Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
10. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
11. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on January 22, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
12. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
13. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
14. "Polk County, NC - Polk County, North Carolina - Ancestry & family history - ePodunk". www.epodunk.com. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
15. "ASSUMED BUSINESS NAME UPDATE". www.polknc.org. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
16. "Meet Our Mayor and Council". www.columbusnc.com. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
17. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
18. "North Carolina Primary Election Results 2016". The New York Times. September 29, 2016. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 17, 2018.
19. "North Carolina Election Results 2016". The New York Times. August 1, 2017. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 17, 2018.

External links

• Geographic data related to Polk County, North Carolina at OpenStreetMap
• Official website
• NCGenWeb Polk County, genealogy resources for the county
• BlueRidgeNow.com – The Times-News Online