Polk County Was
Formed Twice
First time, it didn't lako. and after
a brief period the eounty officially
ца\е
up the ghost. A IV« years later
another attempt was made, and this
time it stuck.
By WILLIAM A. ALLIIANDS
THE mountain county of Polk
has a rather odd distinction,
which is probably not shared
by any other county in the state;
it has existed as a county twice,
having been formed twice from the
same territory.
One of the accomplishments of
the 1846-47 session of the State
Legislature was the formation of
Polk County from a part of Ruth¬
erford and Henderson counties.
Two years later, in 1849. it was
abolished by the General Assem¬
bly, divided into two parts and
returned to the original owners.
Six years later, the same territory
was again taken from a part of
Rutherford and Henderson coun¬
ties and once more formed into the
county of Polk. This time, owing to
the pioneering spirit of a number
of citizens in that area the county
became established on a firm basis.
The town of "Schuywicker" was
selected as the first county seat of
Polk County. This village, now
known as Skyuka, was named for
a Cherokee Indian who helped
Captain Thomas Howard to defeat
a hostile band of red men. in re¬
turn for saving his life from the
bite of a rattlesnake.
Appointment of Commissioners
At a meeting of the county court.
. 1847.
August 23, 1847, held near a
operty
I because of the
• a spring
on the property of Marvill Mills
extremely hot
weather), five county commission¬
ers were appointed to lay off and
sell lots in the proposed county
seat of Schuywicker.
"On the 8th Monday after the
4th Monday in September. 1847"
the initial session of the Superior
Court was held at the mill of Mar¬
vill Mills, presided over by Thomas
Settle, with 13. S. Gaither serving
as solicitor of the 7th Judicial Dis¬
trict. One other term of court was
held, the fall term of 1848, before
THE STATE. JULY S. 1947
the first county went out of ex¬
istence.
Just why Polk County was abol¬
ished two years after it was
formed is not a matter of record,
but the fight that then prevailed
between eastern and western coun¬
ties over representation, was
thought to have been partly re¬
sponsible for the act. There were
also disputes among various citi¬
zens of Polk in regard to the loca¬
tion of the county seat and other
issues, all of which, no doubt had
something to do with the failure
of the first attempt to incorporate
the area into a permanent county.
When, in December 1848. a bill
was introduced in the General As¬
sembly by a representative to re¬
locate the county seat, it was ta¬
bled. A Wayne County representa¬
tive, Curtis H. Brogden who later
became Governor of North Caro¬
lina, formally reported a bill to re¬
al the act creating Polk County,
he bill became a law in January
of 1849. A later act. ratified in
1849, returned to Rutherford and
Henderson counties the slices of
territory that they had previously
held, and Polk County, officially,
ceased to exist.
A Sheriff Without a County
An interesting incident hap¬
pened during this period when the
sheriff of Rutherford County sent
a warrant to the sheriff of Polk for
the arrest of Dr. Columbus Mills.
In 1847, Pulaski B. Williams hod
been elected sheriff of Polk County
for a period of two years. After
Williams had served the warrant.
Dr. Mills sued him for a false ar¬
rest on the grounds that the terri¬
tory was no longer a county, there¬
fore there could be no such author¬
ity as the sheriff of Polk County. A
test case was made, "as to whether
the Legislature could repeal an act
creating a county.” When the case
ft
Polk County courthouse at Colum
bus.
reached the Supreme Court, that
body held that, “the General As¬
sembly had full authority to repeal
any act enacted by it." Sometime
later the records and books of Polk
County were turned over to the
county of Rutherford.
In 1854, an enterprising group of
citizens, headed by Dr. Columbus
Mills, a prominent leader of that
region, began a movement to es¬
tablish a new county. This resulted
in the passage of Chapter 10. Pub¬
lic Laws of 1854-1855. passed on
January 20. 1855. The act was ex¬
actly the same in wording as that
of 1847. which had created the first
county of Polk, except for an addi¬
tional paragraph, which was de¬
signed to prevent the reoccurrence
of the failures of 1847.
The new county seat was named
Columbus in honor of Dr. Colum¬
bus Mills, who was largely respon¬
sible for the second formation of
the county. The first courthouse
was completed at the present
county seat in December of 1856.
Both the first and second coun¬
ties of Polk were named for Colo¬
nel William Polk, a distinguished
soldier of the American Revolu¬
tion. Colonel Polk fought in many
engagements and was wounded in
the Battles of Germantown. Bran¬
dywine, and Eutaw.
s