Established in 1825, the village of Bolivar was platted in 1830; its development spurred by its location on the Ohio Canal. The short-lived Sandy-Beaver Canal connection to Pittsburgh established Bolivar as a featured shipping center, where farmers with their wagons waited in lines a mile long to unload grain via horse-powered elevators into the local mill, operated by James F. Evans. The mill still stands and is currently rented out for office space on Canal Street.
As rail transportation replaced canal operations, growth slowed. This contributed to the current eclectic mix of housing, which boasts many gorgeous buildings from the Canal Era, interspersed with popular new construction over the years. Downtown Bolivar in particular contains many remnants from those by-gone days, with new owners restoring many of the historic buildings to their former glory.