Renova, MS

Renova is a Bolivar County town of 676 residents in the 2020 census, about three miles north of Cleveland in the Mississippi Delta. The town grew as an African American community around a sawmill and the Yazoo and Mississippi Railroad; in 1907 it was described as a rapidly growing place. That origin still matters: Renova's story is tied to Black landholding, work, churches, and the agricultural landscape north of Cleveland. Cotton fields and drainage canals run out from its streets toward the Delta horizon.

Cleveland School District serves Renova, with older students attending Cleveland Central Middle and High School. Delta State University is minutes away, giving the town access to a large educational and cultural institution while Renova remains a distinct municipality. The flat Delta horizon, drainage ditches, farm fields, and Cleveland-area roads make the town's setting immediately legible. Renova is small in population but carries a clear history as a Black Delta town formed around railroad, sawmill, and self-directed community life.