It has a land area of 397,000 acres. Marble of a high grade is found at Marble Hill.
Native timber consists mostly of oak, hickory and cypress.
Bollinger County was organized by an act of the State Legislature, approved March 1, l851. It was formed from portions of Wayne, Cape Girardeau and Stoddard counties. It was named in honor of George Frederick Bollinger. G. F. Bollinger was born of Swiss heritage in North Carolina. He settled on the White Water River and then in the district of Cape Girardeau in 1796.