Bolivar is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

and

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Bolivar County,

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, United States. Bolivar was once the county seat, and Bolivar Landing was its port on the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

. Now permanently cut off from the river, Bolivar is a quiescent residential hamlet, while Bolivar Landing, immediately north and across the immense Mississippi Levee, is a cottage community on Lake Whittington. It was first named as a CDP in the 2020 Census which listed a population of 39.

History

When Bolivar County was established in 1836, the first county seat was located at Bolivar. William Vick sold of land to the county for $800, and it was then named Bolivar. The land was surveyed by B.M. Hines, who laid out the courthouse square, with town lots around it which were advertised for sale. An order was passed by the Board of Police (later called "supervisors") in 1840 to build a one-room courthouse at a cost of $595. In 1844, the Board of Police ordered that the county seat be moved to a location north of present-day Beulah. Soon after, the county seat was moved to Prentiss, where a courthouse was erected. After the near-destruction of Prentiss during the Civil War, the courthouse was placed on a flat-boat and carried down the river to Bolivar Landing. A post office operated under the name Bolivar from 1830 to 1859.

Trusten Polk Trusten W. Polk (May 29, 1811April 16, 1876) served as the 12th Governor of Missouri in 1857 and U.S. Senator from 1857 to 1862. Biography Polk was born in Bridgeville, Delaware. A Democrat, he was elected Governor of Missouri in 1856 and ser ...

, a former U.S. Senator and Governor of Missouri, was captured by Union forces at Bolivar Landing in 1863, along with his wife and two daughters. In 1864, Union forces carried away cargo from Bolivar Landing, and set fire to several houses. Also in 1864, Confederate soldiers burned the near Bolivar Landing, though the ship was not destroyed. In 1874, high waters on the Mississippi River broke a levee at Bolivar Landing, forming a

crevasse A crevasse is a deep crack, that forms in a glacier or ice sheet that can be a few inches across to over 40 feet. Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi-rigid pie ...

wide. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed the Caulk Island Cutoff in 1937, which diverted the course of the Mississippi River to enable a more direct route for shipping. This diversion removed Bolivar Landing from contiguous access to the Mississippi River (except for a small channel for recreational boats), and created Lake Whittington, an oxbow lake.

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

In popular culture

Mark Twain mentioned Bolivar Landing in his parody "River Intelligence", published in the New Orleans ''Crescent'' in 1859. The fictional river captain Sergeant Fathom states: "When me and DeSoto discovered the Mississippi, I could stand at Bolivar Landing (several miles above "Roaring Waters Bar") and pitch a biscuit to the main shore on the other side."

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Bolivar County, Mississippi Unincorporated communities in Mississippi Census-designated places in Bolivar County, Mississippi