Bolivar, Townsite of

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the townsite of Bolivar, out in Denton County, and friends, this one starts with a mug of rum. Now, Bolivar gets its name indirectly from Simon Bolivar, South American statesman, general, and patriot. Indirectly.

Because the town almost didn't carry that name at all. When the community was founded in 1852, a man who had settled there from Bolivar, Tennessee, wanted to name the place in honor of his hometown back east. Simple enough.

But a preacher-doctor (and that's a combination that ought to give anybody pause) insisted the settlement be called New Prospect. So what do you do when a preacher-doctor digs in his heels? You call an election.

And that Tennessean? He showed up to that election with mugs of rum and a willingness to exchange them for votes. Bolivar won.

So New Prospect it wasn't. Bolivar it was, and Bolivar it stayed. Now, once you've got a name, you've got to build something worth namin'.

And Bolivar did not disappoint. During the 1800s, it served as the westernmost fort in Denton County and the first settlement west of Collin County. Two stagecoach lines changed horses right there in town.

And the town thrived; we're talkin' three hotels, several stores, a gin, a flour mill, a sawmill, a blacksmith shop, a saloon, a church, and a school. That's a town with opinions about how to spend a Saturday. Bolivar also sat at a crossroads that mattered.

It was here that the Texas cattle trail joined the Jesse Chisholm Trail. And it was John Chisum, Texas cattle baron, who had herds in the area and furnished beef to the Confederacy during the Civil War. But here's where Bolivar's story picks up a different kind of shadow.

The town and the surrounding area were havens for Sam Bass and his men. Two Bolivar men were jailed in 1890 for harboring notorious marauders. When a place is known as a haven for outlaws, that's not an accident; that's a reputation, earned slow and kept long.

Many early settlers, whose descendants still live in the area, played important roles in the development of the county. The town they built, rum-won, trail-crossing, outlaw-sheltering Bolivar, left its mark on Denton County in ways that echoed well past those frontier years. All because somebody came to an election with the right refreshments.

What the marker says

Named indirectly for Simon Bolivar, South American statesman, general and patriot. It might have been called "New Prospect," but for a mug of rum. When town was founded in 1852, a man who had settled here from Bolivar, Tenn., wanted to name the community in honor of his hometown. But a preacher-doctor insisted that it be named New Prospect. An election was called to settle the matter and the Tennessean exchanged mugs of rum for votes, Bolivar won. During the 1800s, Bolivar was the westernmost fort in Denton County and the first settlement west of Collin County. Two stagecoach lines changed horses here. The town thrived and could count three hotels, several stores, a gin, a flour mill, a sawmill, a blacksmith shop, a saloon, a church and a school. It was here that the Texas cattle trail joined the Jesse Chisholm Trail, but it was John Chisum, Texas cattle baron, who had herds here and furnished beef to the Confederacy during the Civil War. Bolivar and the surrounding area were havens for Sam Bass and his men. Two Bolivar men were jailed in 1890 for harboring notorious marauders. Many early settlers (whose descendants still live here) played important roles in development of county.