Polk County, Georgia

Polk County Education, Geography, and History

Polk County is a county located in the state of Georgia. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 41,475.  Polk county was created on December 20, 1851 by an act of the Georgia General Assembly. The county seat is Cedartown. The county is named after James K. Polk, the eleventh President of the United States.

Polk County comprises the Cedartown, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, GA Combined Statistical Area

Etymology - Origin of Polk County Name

Polk County was named for President James K. Polk.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Polk County History

Created from parts of Floyd and Paulding counties, Polk County was named for President James K. Polk.

Cedartown carries the same name as a Creek Indian town previously found in the area. The name comes from the many Red Cedar trees around the county.

Points of Interest

Rockmart is at the end of a state-owned abandoned railroad line to Atlanta. Polk County has over a 15 mile paved section of the Silver Comet Trail. The first section of the trail starts in Paulding County and heads west to Polk County. The second part of the trail runs from Coot's Lake Road to historical Downtown Rockmart. The important part of the trail, located in Cedartown, is not paved and still has railroad tracks on the trail. This part of the Silver Comet Trail connects Georgia to the Chief Ladiga Trail in Alabama.

Cedartown's Big Spring is the largest natural limestone spring in the South.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places is the downtown district of Cedartown, an example of 1890s architecture. Also included is the Hawkes Children's Library, built in 1921. It is now a museum.

Notable Citizens

Ivy Ledbetter Lee, known as the founder of modern public relations, was from Polk County.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 312 square miles (810 km²), of which 310 square miles (800 km²) is land and 1.8 square miles (4.7 km²) (0.6%) is water.

 Polk county is located in northwest Georgia. The county is in the Coosa River basin with a small part of southern Polk in the Tallapoosa River basin.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• North: Floyd County
• Northeast: Bartow County
• Southeast: Paulding County
• South: Haralson County
• Southwest: Cleburne County, Ala.
• Northwest: Cherokee County, Ala.

Education

Higher Education

Coosa Valley Technical College has a satellite campus in Rockmart.

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