With Bolivar County adjoining the mighty Mississippi, and a long history of its relationship to the Mississippi River dating back to the paddlewheel steam boats, the Bolivar County Board of Supervisors undertook a project in the early 1970's to conduct a feasibility study on developing a port within its boundaries.

After hiring a nationally recognized engineering firm, a report presented in February, 1974 indicated that a port development project was economically feasible and should be strongly pursued. At this time, the Board of Supervisors had legislation passed by the Mississippi Legislature creating a five-person County Port Commission within Bolivar County. In July,1974 five energetic individuals were appointed from the five districts within the county and they hit the ground running 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 project would be constructed by the Corps with certain assurances from Bolivar County under Section 107 of the River and Harbor Act of 1960 as amended. With the help of the late Senator John Stennis and of Senator Jim Eastland, as well as former Second Congressional District David Bowen, the project was off and running.

From the original design (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), the port has grown to more than a 3.3 mile long channel with over a mile of turning basin, 168 acres of hydraulic fill for marine related industries, a general cargo dock, a dry-bulk unloading dock and a dry-bulk loading dock. Two private docks are located at the Port of Rosedale, as well as a major towing company on the Arkansas Navigation System. In addition, the 270-acre Rosedale Industrial Park has been constructed on the landside of the Mississippi River levee system for industrial development with hard surface road connections to the port. With an excellent workforce and favorable industrial climate, over 1,700 direct and indirect jobs have been created with an estimated $60,000,000 investment from public and private interests.

The Port Commission holds memberships in the Mississippi Water Resource Association,the Mississippi World Trade Center, the Inland Rivers, Ports, Terminals, Inc. and the National Waterways Conference.