Bolivia is a town in Brunswick County,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, United States. The population was 149 at the 2020 census. It is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Brunswick County.

History

The town was settled by European Americans in the 1890s and was incorporated in 1911. One theory about the name is that many boxes being shipped from the area said "

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

", referring to the country in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, and the people liked that name. A post office called Bolivia has been in operation since 1892. The town is named after

, in South America. Bolivia was incorporated as a town in 1911. National Airlines Flight 2511 blew up over Bolivia on January 6, 1960. The DC-6B was destroyed by an explosion of

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...

. When U.S. 17 was widened to four lanes, a bypass was constructed around Bolivia; intended to improve traffic, the highway drew away visitors and retail customers, causing an economic decline in the town. In 1977, the county decided to move the county seat of Brunswick County from

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

to Bolivia. Being a center of government operations stimulated other businesses and had helped Bolivia build its businesses.

Geography

Old U.S. Route 17 (Old Ocean Highway) passes through the center of the town, while the current

U.S. Route 17 U.S. Route 17 or U.S. Highway 17 (US 17), also known as the Coastal Highway, is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that spans in the Southeastern United States. It runs close to the East Coast of the United States, At ...

(Ocean Highway) bypasses it to the northwest. US-17 leads northeast to Wilmington and southwest to

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the East Coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as the "Grand Strand” in the northeastern part of the state. Its ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town of Bolivia has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 149 people, 71 households, and 54 families residing in the town.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 148 people, 58 households, and 45 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 77 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 96.62%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.35%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 1.35% Native American, and 0.68% from two or more races. There were 58 households, out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 17.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.4% were non-families. 19.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 2.84. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 21.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 76.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $33,125, and the median income for a family was $35,625. Males had a median income of $26,250 versus $20,000 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $12,973. There were 7.3% of families and 13.5% of the population living below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 12.9% of under eighteens and none of those over 64.

References

{{authority control Towns in North Carolina Towns in Brunswick County, North Carolina County seats in North Carolina Cape Fear (region)