Bolivar Peninsula ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Galveston County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,769 at the 2020 census. The communities of Port Bolivar, Crystal Beach, Caplen, Gilchrist, and High Island are located on Bolivar Peninsula.
History
The peninsula was named in 1816 for Simón Bolívar, 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.
The North Jetty, extending from Bolivar Peninsula, of the entrance to Galveston Bay started being constructed in 1874.
At one time the Bolivar Peninsula was called the "breadbasket of Galveston" and the "watermelon capital of Texas".
On April 23, 1991, communities of Bolivar Peninsula received an enhanced 9-1-1 system which routes calls to proper dispatchers and allows dispatchers to automatically view the address of the caller. The Bolivar Peninsula suffered heavy damage from Hurricane Ike that made landfall on the Texas coast on September 13, 2008.
Geography
The Bolivar Peninsula forms a very narrow strip of land in Galveston County, separating the eastern part of Galveston Bay from the Gulf of Mexico. Its narrowest point is a quarter of a mile and is near the unincorporated community of Gilchrist, where the peninsula was divided by Rollover Pass.
upright=1.6|thumb|center|Bolivar Peninsula as census-designated place (CDP)
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 11.7%, is water.
Communities
While every community on the Bolivar Peninsula is unincorporated, Crystal Beach, formerly known as Patton, was an Incorporated community from 1971 until 1987.
Unincorporated communities
- Caplen
- Crystal Beach
- Gilchrist
- High Island
- Port Bolivar
Demographics
:Note: Information prior to September 2008's Hurricane Ike may be significantly different from current information.