Polk County is named for James Knox Polk, who was the eleventh president of the United States from 1845 to 1849.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Trinity County and Angelina County
E – Tyler County
S – Hardin County and Liberty County
Created: March 30, 1846 
County Seat:
Livingston 1846 – present
County Courthouse – Livingston
Location: 101 West Church Street / South Washington Street
Built: 1923 – 1924
Style: Texas Renaissance and Classical Revival
Architect: McLelland and Fink
Contractor: Isaac Young
Description: The building faces north and is a three story Cordova Cream limestone structure. The building is located on the landscaped grounds of Courthouse Square in the center of Livingston. The north and south fronts of the rectangular building have large porches with six high white colored columns rising to wide headers with balustrade along the flat roof line. The east and west sides have smaller porches with four white colored columns. The entrances are framed. On the southwest side of the courthouse square is the old red colored brick Courthouse Annex designed by L S Green and constructed in 1905.
Note: The first courthouse was a log cabin built in 1846. The second courthouse was a two story brick structure built in 1854 at a cost of $5,600. The third courthouse was a two story brick structure designed by Eugene Thomas Heiner and constructed by W C Wells in 1884 at a cost of $17,500.
County Judicial Center – Livingston
Location: 101 West Mill Street / South Washington Street
Built: 2009 – 2011
Style: Modern
Architect: Hester + Hester Architecture
Contractor: J E Kingham Construction Company
Description: The building faces north and is a two story brick and concrete structure which has the appearance of a series of separate buildings to compliment the downtown area. The building is located in the center of Livingston to the south of the courthouse and has a series of fronts on the north side with a recessed buff colored brick entrance section at the center. On either side of the center section are red colored brick sections and the outer section are buff colored brick. The roof lines vary in height and design. The outer sections are original buildings which were incorporated into the one building.
County Courthouse – Livingston
County Courthouse Annex – Livingston
County Judicial Center – Livingston
photos taken 2014