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C+History
History · Bolivar Peninsula

2 of Bolivar Peninsula’s places are on the National Register

More historic than 40% of U.S. towns · #184 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Most of Bolivar Peninsula was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2006. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1931 on, and the census since 2000.

2on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bolivar Peninsula’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

About Bolivar Peninsula’s history

How historic is Bolivar Peninsula?

C+

More historic than 40% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Bolivar Peninsula’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bolivar Peninsula is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #184 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bolivar Peninsula’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 19401.4% of homes (±1.5) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register2 listings, 6.8 per 10,000 residents · typical TX town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 40%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 71%

Few Texas towns list much on the Register (a typical Texas town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bolivar Peninsula’s 6.8 sits above most of its state (84% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±1.5 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Bolivar Peninsula’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Bolivar Peninsula, and 10 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Port Bolivar
1893–today
High Island
1897–today
Rollover
1897–1906
Caplen
1907–1915
Gilchrist
1950–today
18901960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Bolivar BeachCaplenCrystal BeachFort TravisGilchristHigh IslandPatton WoodsPort BolivarRolloverStingaree
1cemetery inside Bolivar Peninsula
Port Bolivar

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Bolivar Peninsula came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bolivar Peninsula.

Read it all →

The peninsula was named in 1816 for Simón Bolívar, the famed Venezuelan political leader involved in the independence movements of Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and other Latin American nations.

The pirates/privateers Jean Laffite and Louis-Michel Aury each used the Bolivar Peninsula as part of the pirate kingdom established around the Galveston Bay. The peninsula was part of an overland slave route between Louisiana and Galveston.

James Long based his operations on the peninsula since 1819 with the first establishment of Bolivar Peninsula, and Fort Las Casas was built in 1820. Samuel D. Parr was responsible for starting the settlement in 1838 that would later become Port Bolivar.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bolivar Peninsula, 1863 to 1999

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1863In the archiveRebel look-out, Bolivar Point
  3. 1893Post officeThe Port Bolivar post office opens
  4. 1897Post officeThe High Island post office opens
  5. 1897Post officeThe Rollover post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1906Post officeThe Rollover post office closes
  8. 1931On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1973In the archiveElmer Wayne Henley High Island August 12 1973
  10. 1999In the archiveGulf Intracoastal Waterway Galveston Bay
By decade

Bolivar Peninsula, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s1 item
Rebel look-out, Bolivar Point1863Rebel look-out, Bolivar Point
1970s–1990s4 items
Elmer Wayne Henley High Island August 12 19731973Elmer Wayne Henley High Island August 12 1973Elmer Wayne Henley and David Owen Brook (by Jerry Click) – Bolivar Peninsula, August 10, 19731973Elmer Wayne Henley and David Owen Brook (by Jerry Cli…High Island Beach Excavation Houston Mass Murders Friday 10 August 19731973High Island Beach Excavation Houston Mass Murders Fri…Gulf Intracoastal Waterway Galveston Bay1999Gulf Intracoastal Waterway Galveston Bay
Today7 recent
FEMA - 17063 - Photograph by Ed Edahl taken on 10-12-2005 in Texas2005FEMA - 17063 - Photograph by Ed Edahl taken on 10-12-…FEMA - 17062 - Photograph by Ed Edahl taken on 10-12-2005 in Texas2005FEMA - 17062 - Photograph by Ed Edahl taken on 10-12-…FEMA - 17061 - Photograph by Ed Edahl taken on 10-12-2005 in Texas2005FEMA - 17061 - Photograph by Ed Edahl taken on 10-12-…TXMap-doton-BolivarPeninsula2004TXMap-doton-BolivarPeninsulaIntercostal Canal before the Hurricane- 20042001Intercostal Canal before the Hurricane- 2004Crystal Beach-Gilcrest Before the Hurricane- Memories2001Crystal Beach-Gilcrest Before the Hurricane- MemoriesCrystal Beach before the Hurricane2001Crystal Beach before the Hurricane
On the map

Bolivar Peninsula on the map, 1931 to 1994

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bolivar Peninsula. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Bolivar Peninsula on the 1931 USGS mapBolivar Peninsula on the 1943 USGS mapBolivar Peninsula on the 1954 USGS mapBolivar Peninsula on the 1969 USGS mapBolivar Peninsula on the 1974 USGS mapBolivar Peninsula on the 1994 USGS map1931Patton sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bolivar Peninsula.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Rebel look-out, Bolivar Point
Retake this viewRebel look-out, Bolivar Point, 1863

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Bolivar Peninsula’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Bolivar Peninsula

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
Point Bolivar Lighthouse
Point Bolivar LighthouseFort Travis
DistrictsStructures
Point Bolivar LighthouseStructure
Fort TravisDistrict

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Bolivar Peninsula, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,00020002020Peak: 3,853

Between 2,417 and 3,853 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bolivar Peninsula’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Bolivar Peninsula

Nobody well known was born in Bolivar Peninsula itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Barry WhiteAmerican soul singer · b. 1944
King VidorAmerican film director, film producer, and scre… · b. 1894
Jack JohnsonAmerican boxer · b. 1878
Liana LiberatoAmerican actress · b. 1995
Valerie PerrineAmerican actress · b. 1943
Katherine HelmondAmerican actress · b. 1929
Help out

Finish Bolivar Peninsula’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewRebel look-out, Bolivar Point: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Bolivar Peninsula’s history

How does Bolivar Peninsula rank for history?

Bolivar Peninsula is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #184 of 642 in Texas. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Bolivar Peninsula?

Two places: the Point Bolivar Lighthouse (listed 1977) and the Fort Travis (2005).

How old are the homes in Bolivar Peninsula?

1% of Bolivar Peninsula’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.5 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 2006.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (11), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.