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History · Bowlus

Bowlus’ post office opened in 1907, and 56% of its homes were built before 1940

1907first post office
0on the National Register
56%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Myotus · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Bowlus began

When was Bowlus founded?

1907

The Bowlus post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Saint Stanislaus (1887), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

2020 census: 279119 years
Founding year: the first Bowlus post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Bowlus’ 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 Bowlus are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Bowlus’ homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bowlus’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Bowlus came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bowlus.

Read it all →

Many of the early settlers in the Bowlus area came from Silesia in Poland. Bowlus was platted in 1907 and named by officers of the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad. A post office has been in operation since 1907. Bowlus was incorporated as a village in September 1908 and separated from the Two Rivers Township in February 1919.

Heavy stands of oak, maple, elm and white pine trees made lumbering a significant economic force in Bowlus's early history, including a sawmill, lumberyard, and barrel factory. The Bowlus Brick & Tile Co. was organized to extract the laminated clay the Two River deposited in the area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bowlus, 1887 to 1907

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe Saint Stanislaus post office opens
  3. 1887Post officeThe Saint Stanislaus post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1907Post officeThe Bowlus post office opens
By decade

Bowlus, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Grain elevator2022Grain elevatorDowntown, Bowlus, Minnesota-022022Downtown, Bowlus, Minnesota-02Downtown, Bowlus, Minnesota-012022Downtown, Bowlus, Minnesota-01Community Center-Bowlus, Minnesota2022Community Center-Bowlus, MinnesotaSoo Line Bridge at2021Soo Line Bridge atBowlus, Minnesota welcome sign2020Bowlus, Minnesota welcome sign
Famous people

Famous people close to Bowlus

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

See all →
Carmen HillAmerican baseball player · b. 1895
Gordon RosenmeierAmerican lawyer and politician · b. 1907
K
Kenny BenkowskiAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1937
I
Isaac SchultzAmerican politician · b. 1991
James Jewett CarnesAmerican military leader · b. 1899
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Bowlus’s post office has been open since 1907. Another post office, Saint Stanislaus, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Saint Stanislaus
1887–1887
Bowlus
1907–today
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Bowluslocale
1cemetery inside Bowlus
Saint Stanislaus Saint Stan Kostka

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

Questions about Bowlus’ history

What year was Bowlus founded?

The Bowlus post office opened in 1907, 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 →
Start a conversation
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 Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.