Polk County

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Old-Time Polk

Mr. J.A. Prior, of Esom Hill, brought to our office the other day some extracts from an old book, “Historical Collections of Georgia,” which was dedicated by the author to Jas. Hamilton Couper, Hon. Geo. R. Gilmer and Hon. Jos. H. Lumpkin. It has the following to say of this section, which will be read with interest by our older citizens.

This is a new county laid out in 1851. It is bounded east by Paulding, west by the state of Alabama, south by Carroll, and north by Floyd and Cass. Length, 24 m; breath; 20 m.

(The county was) Named after the late James K. Polk, President of the United States.

The streams are Pumpkin Pile, Euharlee, Cedar, etc. In some parts the lands are of excellent quality, yielding cotton, corn, wheat, rye, etc. Cedartown, in Cedar Valley, is the capital, handsomely located, 18 miles from Rome, 25 from Dallas, and 9 from Cave Spring.

At Cedartown is one of the finest limestone springs in the state. It is surrounded by a beautiful natural growth of cedar. The spring affords water sufficient to move machinery of several horse-power. It is proposed to supply the town with water by means of a hydraulic ram. We feel peculiar pleasure in stating that the citizens of this county take a deep interest in the subject of education.

At Cedartown there is an excellent school called the Woodlawn Seminary under the direction of the Rev. Mr. Wood, a gentleman of very superior qualifications.

The institution is yet in its incipiency, but we feel confident that it will soon occupy a high rank among the many resorts of learning of which Georgia may justly be proud.

The following are the names of some of the persons living in the county at the time of its organization, viz; Thomas H. Sparks, Dr. E. H. Richardson, Wm. Peek, Asa Prior, Col. Springer, R. C. Gibson, Wm. F. Janes, W. E. West, G. W. West, James O. Griggs, B. F. Bigelow, W. O. B. Whatley, B. Crabb. The first Superior court in this county was held on the second Monday of September 1852.

From The Cedartown Standard, Cedartown, GA., March 20, 1919

A follow-up: oh how the times have changed. Where once horses powered everything, now we rely on machines of all kinds for domestic, agricultural, commercial and industrial pursuits. Think of what people in 1919 would have done with an iPhone in their pocket, for instance?

Polk County’s output to the world in many ways does remain what it was in 1919. The farmers here produce a lot of cotton and corn, and the water is still some of the best in the state. Some things change, others don’t. - KM