Bolivar is a town in Allegany County, New York, United States. The population was 2,189 at the 2010 census. The town is named after Simón Bolívar.Bolivar is on the south border of the county and is east of Olean. There is also a village of Bolivar in the town.As "the heart of the Allegany Oil Field" the Bolivar-Richburg area rose to significance during the oil boom era of the late 1800s. During the brief initial oil boom of the 1880s it was purportedly the wealthiest locale, per capita, in the United States. By the early 1900s the initial boom, with its economic and population impacts, had significantly faded, but secondary oil recovery techniques applied to the oil fields drastically rejuvenated the industry in the area.An extensive collection of photos and documents related to the history, schools and other institutions, and people of Bolivar N.Y. is maintained on Facebook as the "Bolivar New York Fan Page." The items are organized into dozens of albums, by topic.