Bolivar County has always enjoyed a deep connection to the Mississippi River. Since the earliest days of the paddlewheel steam boats, Bolivar residents have recognized the Mississippi as a uniquely valuable resource. So when the opportunity to develop a port presented itself in the early 1970s, the county was determined that the project would be handled with the utmost care and professionalism, beginning with a top-flight feasibility study.
The county hired a nationally recognized engineering firm, and a report was presented in February, 1974 indicating that a port development project was economically feasible and should be strongly pursued. Immediately, the Board of Supervisors petitioned the Mississippi Legislature to create a five-person County Port Commission within Bolivar County, and after five energetic individuals were appointed from the five districts within the county, this dedicated group hit the ground running. Their full-speed-ahead effort that took them from Bolivar County to the U. S. Corps of Engineers District Headquarters in Vicksburg, MS, to the halls of Congress in Washington, D.C.
In January, 1977, the Corps of Engineers issued a detailed project report entitled "Rosedale Harbor, MS." Within the specifications of the project, a benefit-cost ratio of 2.7 was proposed. The Corps was to provide construction with certain assurances from Bolivar County under Section 107 of the River and Harbor Act of 1960 as amended. With the help of then-Senators John Stennis and Jim Eastland, as well as former Second Congressional District David Bowen, the project was launched.
The result: A port ready to provide superior service, featuring a 150-foot wide channel over 2.7 miles long with an additional 400' width turning basin on the upper end and a "T" shaped 211' x 51' general cargo dock with a crane adjoining a 20 acre hydraulic fill for a terminal.
