Bolivar County
County
Grover Hotel in Downtown Cleveland Historic District.
Grover Hotel in Downtown Cleveland Historic District.
Map of Mississippi highlighting Bolivar County
Location within the U.S. state of Mississippi
Map of the United States highlighting Mississippi
Mississippi's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 33°47′N 90°53′W / 33.79°N 90.88°W / 33.79; -90.88
Country United States
State Mississippi
Founded1836
Named forSimón Bolívar
SeatRosedale and Cleveland
Largest cityCleveland
Area
 • Total906 sq mi (2,350 km2)
 • Land877 sq mi (2,270 km2)
 • Water29 sq mi (80 km2)  3.2%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total30,985
 • Density34/sq mi (13/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district2nd
Websitewww.co.bolivar.ms.us

Bolivar County (/ˈbɒlɪvər/ BOL-i-vər) is a county located on the western border of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,985.[1] Its county seats are Rosedale and Cleveland.[2] The county is named in honor of Simón Bolívar, early 19th-century leader of the liberation of several South American territories from Spain.

The Cleveland, Mississippi, Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Bolivar County. It is located in the Mississippi Delta, or Yazoo Basin, of Mississippi. This area was first developed for cotton plantations. Large industrial-scale agricultural operations have reduced the number of farm workers needed, and the population is half of its peak in 1930. Today, soybeans, corn, and rice are also commodity crops.

History

In 1836, when it was founded, the land was originally Choctaw, and was taken for use in agriculture, with some of the most valued land in the state.[3] In 1840, there was only one free black person, 384 free whites, and 971 enslaved people, making its population 60% slaves. This number only increased, because around 1860, the population was about 87% slaves, due to its mostly agricultural economy, and continued to gain a high black population, relating to it being in the delta,[3] and mound bayou's pressure for African-Americans to move to the delta. In the 1920s, Bolivar county was a hotspot for UNIA chapters, with 17 chapters, and by 1960, it had a significant local civil rights movement, and remains a mostly black area today.[3]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 906 square miles (2,350 km2), of which 877 square miles (2,270 km2) is land and 29 square miles (75 km2) (3.2%) is water.[4] It is the second-largest county in Mississippi by land area and fourth-largest by total area.

Major highways

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18401,356—
18502,57790.0%
186010,471306.3%
18709,732−7.1%
188018,65291.7%
189029,98060.7%
190035,42718.2%
191048,90538.0%
192057,66917.9%
193071,05123.2%
194067,564−4.9%
195063,004−6.7%
196054,464−13.6%
197049,409−9.3%
198045,965−7.0%
199041,875−8.9%
200040,633−3.0%
201034,145−16.0%
202030,985−9.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[5]
1790-1960[6] 1900-1990[7]
1990-2000[8] 2010-2013[9]

2020 census

Bolivar County Racial Composition[1]
Race Num. Perc.
White 10,442 33.7%
Black or African American 19,923 64.3%
Native American 62 0.2%
Asian 310 1.0%
Mixed 248 0.8%
Hispanic or Latino 744 2.4%

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 30,985 people, 12,114 households, and 7,719 families residing in the county.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 34,145 people living in the county. 64.5% were Black or African American, 33.5% White, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% Native American, 0.9% of some other race and 0.6% of two or more races. 1.9% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

2000 census

As of the census[10] of 2000, there were 40,633 people, 13,776 households, and 9,725 families living in the county. The population density was 46 people per square mile (18/km2). There were 14,939 housing units at an average density of [7] per square mile (7/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 65.11% Black or African American, 33.24% White, 0.10% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.48% from other races, and 0.56% from two or more races. 1.17% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 13,776 households, out of which 35.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.20% were married couples living together, 27.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.40% were non-families. 25.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.36.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 29.60% under the age of 18, 14.00% from 18 to 24, 25.70% from 25 to 44, 19.60% from 45 to 64, and 11.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 87.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $23,428, and the median income for a family was $27,301. Males had a median income of $27,643 versus $20,774 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,088. About 27.90% of families and 33.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 43.90% of those under age 18 and 27.90% of those age 65 or over.

Life expectancy

According to the most recent data on U.S. life expectancy, published in 2010 by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, a male in Bolivar County could expect to live 65.0 years, the second shortest for any county in the United States, following McDowell County, West Virginia. The national average is 76.1 years for a male.[11]

Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Joseph S. Clark, Jr. had visited "pockets of poverty" in the Mississippi Delta 40 years earlier. In Cleveland, they observed barefoot, underfed African-American children in tattered clothing, with vacant expressions and distended bellies. Kennedy stated that he thought he had seen the worst poverty in the nation in West Virginia, but it paled in comparison to the poverty he observed in Cleveland.[12]

Government

The county has a county administrator, who acts upon the requests of the board of supervisors primarily.[13]

Education

Colleges and universities

The county is within the boundaries of two community college districts: Coahoma Community College and Mississippi Delta Community College.[14][15] CCC's main campus is in rural Coahoma County outside of Clarksdale, and MDCC's campus is in Moorhead in Sunflower County.

Public School Districts

School districts:[16]

Former school districts:[17]

The five school districts other than the Cleveland School District, were, in 2012, among the 20 smallest of the 152 school districts in the State of Mississippi.[18] In the State of Mississippi, Bolivar County was the only county that had six school districts.[19] Consolidation was urged to save money and facilitate cooperation. In 2012 the Mississippi Senate Education Committee passed a bill asking the State of Mississippi to consolidate the six school districts in Bolivar County to three or two.[18] The Mississippi Senate passed the bill 37–11.[19]

As recently as the 1960s the school board of Bolivar County censored what black children were allowed to learn, and mandated that "Neither foreign languages nor civics shall be taught in Negro schools. Nor shall American history from 1860 to 1875 be taught.”[20]

Private School

Media

The Bolivar Commercial is distributed in Bolivar County.[21]

Politics

United States presidential election results for Bolivar County, Mississippi[22]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No. %No. %No. %
2020 4,671 33.99% 8,904 64.78% 169 1.23%
2016 4,590 33.20% 9,046 65.44% 188 1.36%
2012 4,701 30.47% 10,582 68.59% 145 0.94%
2008 4,891 31.80% 10,334 67.19% 156 1.01%
2004 5,535 36.16% 9,631 62.92% 141 0.92%
2000 4,847 35.80% 8,436 62.31% 255 1.88%
1996 4,027 30.56% 8,670 65.80% 479 3.64%
1992 4,752 33.40% 8,801 61.87% 673 4.73%
1988 6,105 43.34% 7,606 54.00% 374 2.66%
1984 6,939 43.85% 8,769 55.42% 116 0.73%
1980 5,148 35.53% 8,839 61.00% 504 3.48%
1976 5,136 39.89% 7,561 58.73% 178 1.38%
1972 7,397 66.12% 3,616 32.32% 174 1.56%
1968 1,790 15.56% 4,696 40.82% 5,018 43.62%
1964 4,680 86.49% 731 13.51% 0 0.00%
1960 1,012 26.85% 1,119 29.69% 1,638 43.46%
1956 754 21.48% 1,176 33.49% 1,581 45.03%
1952 2,096 53.21% 1,843 46.79% 0 0.00%
1948 115 3.95% 219 7.52% 2,580 88.54%
1944 378 13.39% 2,444 86.61% 0 0.00%
1940 234 7.29% 2,974 92.68% 1 0.03%
1936 101 4.21% 2,296 95.79% 0 0.00%
1932 204 9.48% 1,941 90.24% 6 0.28%
1928 266 12.06% 1,939 87.94% 0 0.00%
1924 266 16.90% 1,212 77.00% 96 6.10%
1920 326 23.80% 1,039 75.84% 5 0.36%
1912 10 2.81% 324 91.01% 22 6.18%

Communities

Cities

Towns

Census-designated places

Unincorporated places

Ghost towns

Notable people

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Bolivar County, Mississippi". www.census.gov. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 r2WPadmin. "Bolivar County". Mississippi Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 24, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ↑ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  5. ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  9. ↑ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 25, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
  10. ↑ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  11. ↑ "Life Expectancy, Obesity, and Physical Activity". Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. 2010.
  12. ↑ Schmitt, Edward R. (2011). President of the Other America: Robert Kennedy and the Politics of Poverty. University of Massachusetts Press. pp. 178, 179. ISBN 978-1558499041.
  13. ↑ "Bolivar County Mississippi- County Administrator". bolivar-county. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Student Residency Archived 2017-08-04 at the Wayback Machine." Coahoma Community College. Retrieved on July 8, 2017.
  15. ↑ "About MDCC". Mississippi Delta Community College. Retrieved May 12, 2021. Service District Bolivar, [...]
  16. ↑ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Bolivar County, MS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2022. - Text list - In 2020 there were three school districts
  17. ↑ "SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Bolivar County, MS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 18, 2022. - Text list - In 2010 there were six school districts
  18. 1 2 Amy, Jeff. "Bill forces merger of Bolivar school districts." Associated Press at the Houston Chronicle. Tuesday March 6, 2012. Retrieved on March 25, 2012. Archive link at The Mississippi Link
  19. 1 2 Amy, Jeff. "Miss. bill would force 6 Bolivar County school districts to merge into 3 or fewer." The Republic. March 14, 2012. Retrieved on March 24, 2012.
  20. ↑ Carmichael, Stokely; Michael Thelwell (2003). Ready for Revolution. Scribner.
  21. ↑ "bc_masthead1.gif Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine." The Bolivar Commercial. Retrieved on April 15, 2012.
  22. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 4, 2018.

33°47′N 90°53′W / 33.79°N 90.88°W / 33.79; -90.88

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