Bowie’s post office opened in 1873, and 6 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 32% of U.S. towns · #133 of 261 in Maryland. What drives it
Most of Bowie was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1920.
The Bowie post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1882. Four smaller post offices, Collington (1858), Mitchellville (1865) and Huntington City (1871), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 677 in 19202020 census: 58,329153 years
How historic is Bowie?
C
More historic than 32% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Bowie post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1882.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bowie’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bowie is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #133 of 261 in Maryland. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bowie’s overall grade.
Few Maryland towns list much on the Register (a typical Maryland town has 0.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bowie’s 1.7 sits near the middle of its state (52% of Maryland towns have fewer) while its 10 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share (±1.2 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1882 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Bowie’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The city of Bowie owes its existence to the railway. In 1853, Colonel William Duckett Bowie obtained a charter from the Maryland legislature to construct a rail line into Southern Maryland. In 1869, the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad Company began the construction of a railroad from Baltimore to Southern Maryland, terminating in Pope's Creek. The area had already been dotted with small farms and large tobacco plantations in an economy based on agriculture and slavery. In 1870, Ben Plumb, a land speculator and developer, sold building lots around the railroad junction and named the settlement Huntington City. By 1872, the line was completed, together with a "spur" to Washington, D.C., and the entire line through Southern Maryland was completed in 1873.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Bowie post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1882.
How does Bowie rank for history?
Bowie is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns, #133 of 261 in Maryland. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Bowie?
6 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Belair Stables (listed 1973, the first). 10 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Bowie?
1% of Bowie’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 3.3% for a Maryland town; the median home was built in 1982.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (10), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.
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