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History · Bowlesville Township

Bowlesville Township’s post office opened in 1871

Most of Bowlesville Township was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1989. Below: maps from 1916 on and the census since 2000.

1871first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Bowlesville Township began

When was Bowlesville Township founded?

1871

The Bowlesville Township post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name. Three smaller post offices, Saline Mines (1851), Bowlesville (1871) and Gibsonia (1903), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 190 in 20002020 census: 132155 years
Founding year: the first Bowlesville Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Bowlesville Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Bowlesville Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Bowlesville Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 19163 editions of the USGS map, 1916 to 1990. Watch Bowlesville Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bowlesville Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bowlesville Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Saline Mines
1851–1931
Bowlesville
1871–1889
Gibsonia
1903–1909
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BowlesvilleGibsonia
Gone or out of use
Blue Blaze MinemineBuckeye SchoolschoolDortch Private StripairportEnterprise SchoolschoolGum Springs SchoolschoolRinggold SchoolschoolSaline Mines SchoolschoolSaline Rocks FerrycrossingTalley Ferrycrossing
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Bowlesville Township
EarnshawHoganStanley

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the map

Bowlesville Township on the map, 1916 to 1990

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bowlesville Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Bowlesville Township on the 1916 USGS mapBowlesville Township on the 1959 USGS mapBowlesville Township on the 1990 USGS map1916Shawneetown sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bowlesville Township.

The story so far

Bowlesville Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bowlesville Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Bowlesville Township is one of ten townships in Gallatin County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 132 and it contained 72 housing units.

Its first post office opened in 1871. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 188 to 132 (-30%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Bowlesville Township, 1851 to 1931

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851Post officeThe Saline Mines post office opens
  3. 1871Post officeThe Bowlesville post office opens
  4. 1889Post officeThe Bowlesville post office closes
  5. 20th century
  6. 1903Post officeThe Gibsonia post office opens
  7. 1909Post officeThe Gibsonia post office closes
  8. 1916On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1931Post officeThe Saline Mines post office closes
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
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People over time

Bowlesville Township, census by census

010020020002020Peak: 190

Between 132 and 190 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bowlesville Township’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Bowlesville Township

Nobody well known was born in Bowlesville Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Kassie DePaivaAmerican singer-songwriter and actress · b. 1961
Earle ClementsAmerican farmer and politician · b. 1896
James H. WilsonUnited States Army officer · b. 1837
David D. PhelpsAmerican politician · b. 1947
Kendall RhineAmerican basketball player · b. 1943
Jerry Wayne ParrishAmerican defector · b. 1944
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Eagle Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGold Hill Township1 historic placeBShawnee Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOld Shawneetown1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bowlesville Township’s history

What year was Bowlesville Township founded?

The Bowlesville Township post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.