To acquire the land, Bollinger first had to sign off a document asserting that he and his fellow settlers were all Roman Catholics.

However, Don Louis Lorimier, the Spanish Land Commandant of Cape Girardeau, had been impressed by Bollinger on an earlier visit and decided to bend the rules for him and his fellow settlers.

Lorimier had earlier fled Ohio Country with his half-Shawnee wife and a band of Shawnee after a raid by men under George Rogers Clark in 1782.

[citation needed] Meanwhile, ownership of the region shifted in quick succession from Spain to France and then in 1803 to the United States via the Louisiana Purchase.

[6] The county's terrain ranges from the Mississippi Delta flatlands in the south to the Ozark Hills in the north.

The most commonly reported first ancestries in Bollinger County were 34% German, 24% United States or American, 10% Irish, 9% English, 3% Dutch, 2% French (excluding Basque), and 1% Scottish.

The most predominant denominations among residents in Bollinger County who adhere to a religion are Southern Baptists (42.43%), Roman Catholics (25.19%), and United Methodists (10.46%).

According to economic research compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the October 2008 unemployment rate in Bollinger County was 5.6 percent.

Like it is in many rural areas, agriculture and farming plays a critical role in the economy of Bollinger County.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, there were no methamphetamine lab busts reported in Bollinger County in 2008.

[citation needed] Missouri generally has a humid continental climate with cool to cold winters and long, hot summers.

Not having either large mountains or oceans nearby to moderate its temperature, its climate is alternately influenced by air from the cold Arctic and the hot and humid Gulf of Mexico.

On April 27, 2002, an F3 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 158-206 mph killed a teenage boy in between Hahn and Marble Hill and injured 16 people and caused $4 million in damages.

Bollinger County, along with the rest of the state of Missouri, is represented in the U.S. Senate by Josh Hawley (R-Columbia) and Roy Blunt (R-Strafford).

On the Democratic side, former Vice President Joe Biden (D-Delaware) both won statewide and carried Bollinger County by a wide margin.

Incumbent President Donald Trump (R-Florida) faced a primary challenge from former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld, but won both Bollinger County and statewide by overwhelming margins.

Businessman Donald Trump (R-New York) narrowly won the state overall and carried a plurality of the vote in Bollinger County.

On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D-New York) narrowly won statewide and carried a majority of the vote in Bollinger County.

Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania), who finished first in the state at large, but eventually lost the nomination to former Governor Mitt Romney (R-Massachusetts).

In 2008, the Missouri Republican Presidential Primary was closely contested, with Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) prevailing and eventually winning the nomination.

Then-Senator Hillary Clinton (D-New York) received more votes than any candidate from either party in Bollinger County during the 2008 presidential primary.

Despite initial reports that Clinton had won Missouri, Barack Obama (D-Illinois), also a Senator at the time, narrowly defeated her statewide and later became that year's Democratic nominee, going on to win the presidency.