Mining was the primary economic activity prior to the Liberian Civil War, in addition to subsistence farming.

The districts of Gbarpolu County, with their 2008 populations, include:[2] The Gola Forest straddles the border between Liberia and Sierra Leone and is home to diverse species of importance to the country.

Residents of these remote villages use footpaths to bring their commodities and services to the other towns with motor roads.

Some chiefs are not correctly installed or properly elected and therefore lack authority amongst disgruntled illegal miners.

Most of the original Gola inhabitants became refugees during the First Liberian Civil War and were slow to return and reassert control of their villages.