Bolivar County, Mississippi

Bolivar County (/ˈbɒlɪvər/ BOL-i-vər) is a county located on the western border of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 34,145.[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 colonies from Spain.

Bolivar County
U.S. county
Grover Hotel in Downtown Cleveland Historic District.
Location within the U.S. state of Mississippi
Mississippi's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 33°47′N 90°53′W
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
 (2010)
 • Total34,145
 • Estimate 
(2019)
30,628
 • Density38/sq mi (15/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district2nd
Websitewww.co.bolivar.ms.us

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

The county had 18 documented lynchings in the period from 1877 to 1950.[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.%±
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%
2018 (est.)31,333[5]−8.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8]
1990-2000[9] 2010-2013[1]

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).

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

Bolivar County is governed via a five-member board of supervisors. Each member is elected from a single-member district. The county is led by a county administrator, who is appointed by the board.

Education

Colleges and universities

The county is within the boundaries of two community college districts: Coahoma Community College and Mississippi Delta Community College.[13][14] CCC's main campus is in rural Coahoma County outside of Clarksdale, and MDCC's campus is in Moorhead in Sunflower County.

History

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.”[15]

Public School Districts

School districts:

Former school districts:

The five school districts, other than the Cleveland School District, are among the 20 smallest of the 152 school districts in the State of Mississippi.[16] In the State of Mississippi, Bolivar County was the only county that had six school districts.[17] 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.[16] The Mississippi Senate passed the bill 37–11.[17]

Private School

Media

The Bolivar Commercial is distributed in Bolivar County.[18]

Politics
Presidential elections results
Presidential elections results[19]
Year Republican Democratic Third parties
2016 33.2% 4,590 65.4% 9,046 1.4% 188
2012 30.5% 4,701 68.6% 10,582 0.9% 145
2008 31.8% 4,891 67.2% 10,334 1.0% 156
2004 36.2% 5,535 62.9% 9,631 0.9% 141
2000 35.8% 4,847 62.3% 8,436 1.9% 255
1996 30.6% 4,027 65.8% 8,670 3.6% 479
1992 33.4% 4,752 61.9% 8,801 4.7% 673
1988 43.3% 6,105 54.0% 7,606 2.7% 374
1984 43.9% 6,939 55.4% 8,769 0.7% 116
1980 35.5% 5,148 61.0% 8,839 3.5% 504
1976 39.9% 5,136 58.7% 7,561 1.4% 178
1972 66.1% 7,397 32.3% 3,616 1.6% 174
1968 15.6% 1,790 40.8% 4,696 43.6% 5,018
1964 86.5% 4,680 13.5% 731
1960 26.9% 1,012 29.7% 1,119 43.5% 1,638
1956 21.5% 754 33.5% 1,176 45.0% 1,581
1952 53.2% 2,096 46.8% 1,843
1948 4.0% 115 7.5% 219 88.5% 2,580
1944 13.4% 378 86.6% 2,444
1940 7.3% 234 92.7% 2,974 0.0% 1
1936 4.2% 101 95.8% 2,296
1932 9.5% 204 90.2% 1,941 0.3% 6
1928 12.1% 266 87.9% 1,939
1924 16.9% 266 77.0% 1,212 6.1% 96
1920 23.8% 326 75.8% 1,039 0.4% 5
1912 2.8% 10 91.0% 324 6.2% 22

Communities

Cities

Towns

Unincorporated places

Ghost towns

Notable people

See also

References
  1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 25, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2013.
  2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on 2011-05-31. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  3. Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror (3rd ed.), Montgomery, Alabama: Equal Justice Initiative (2017); OCLC 1004771814
  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. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  6. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  7. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  8. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  9. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  10. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  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. "Student Residency." Coahoma Community College. Retrieved on July 8, 2017.
  14. "Message from the President Archived 2017-07-04 at the Wayback Machine." Mississippi Delta Community College. Retrieved on July 8, 2017.
  15. Carmichael, Stokely; Michael Thelwell (2003). Ready for Revolution. Scribner.
  16. 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
  17. 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.
  18. "bc_masthead1.gif." The Bolivar Commercial. Retrieved on April 15, 2012.
  19. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2018-03-04.

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