Bolivar, WV

Bolivar sits on the hill immediately west of Harpers Ferry, one mile from the meeting of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. The 2020 census counted 1,072 residents. Before the town had its present name, locals called the settlement Mudfort, a nickname tied to the old rivalry with children in Harpers Ferry. In 1825, residents petitioned Virginia to establish a town named for Simón Bolívar, the South American liberator; the legislature approved it that December. That gives Bolivar a founding story with a very local joke at the beginning and a revolutionary name on the sign.

Today Bolivar and Harpers Ferry share a tightly packed historic and natural setting, with the national park surrounding both towns and the Appalachian Trail running through the larger landscape. The town's Washington Street corridor, community center, library, and parks make it a lived-in place between trail days and commuter mornings. Route 340 is the main way in and out, and the nearby Harpers Ferry station gives residents weekday rail access toward Washington. Civil War earthworks remain on Bolivar Heights, while the river confluence below keeps the geography impossible to miss. Bolivar is an uphill neighbor with its own name, streets, and town government.