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Florida Counties

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Florida Counties

In 1821, there were only two Counties in Florida: Escambia to the west and St. Johns to the east. From these two Counties were formed 67 today.In 1968, the electors of Florida granted local voters the power to adopt charters to govern their counties. Charters are formal written documents that confer powers, duties, or privileges on the county. To date, there are 19 charter Counties in Florida. Collectively these Counties are home to more than 75 percent of Florida's residents.

Polk County, Florida

Polk County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Bartow
Year Organized: 1861
Square Miles: 1,875

Court House:

PO Box 9005, Drawer CA03
County Courthouse
Bartow, FL 33831-9005

Etymology - Origin of County Name

James K. Polk, President, US, 1845-1849.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

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).

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,010 square miles (5,206 km²), of which, 1,874 square miles (4,855 km²) of it is land and 136 square miles (351 km²) of it is water. The total area is 6.75% water.

Neighboring Counties:

North: Lake County
Northeast: Orange County
East: Osceola County
Southeast: Okeechobee County; Highlands County
South: Hardee County
Southwest: Manatee County
West: Hillsborough County
Northwest: Pasco County; Sumter County

Cities and Towns:

- Auburndale	city	Incorporated Area
- Bartow (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Davenport	city	Incorporated Area
- Dundee	town	Incorporated Area
- Eagle Lake	city	Incorporated Area
- Fort Meade	city	Incorporated Area
- Frostproof	city	Incorporated Area
- Haines City	city	Incorporated Area
- Highland Park	village	Incorporated Area
- Hillcrest Heights	town	Incorporated Area
- Kissimmee	city	Incorporated Area
- Lake Alfred	city	Incorporated Area
- Lake Hamilton	town	Incorporated Area
- Lake Wales	city	Incorporated Area
- Lakeland	city	Incorporated Area
- Mulberry	city	Incorporated Area
- Polk City	town	Incorporated Area
- Winter Haven	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."