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History · Bowdens

Bowdens’ post office opened in 1874

Most of Bowdens was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1977 on.

1874first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Bowdens began

When was Bowdens founded?

1874

The Bowdens post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 196152 years
Founding year: the first Bowdens post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Bowdens’ 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 Bowdens are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bowdens’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bowdens’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 so far

Bowdens, in brief

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

Bowdens is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Duplin County, North Carolina, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census, with a population of 196. The community is in northwestern Duplin County, along U.S. Route 117. It is 4 miles (6 km) north of Warsaw and the same distance south of Faison.

Its first post office opened in 1874.

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

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.

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On the map

Bowdens on the map, 1977 to 1986

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

Bowdens on the 1977 USGS mapBowdens on the 1986 USGS map1977Warsaw North sheet · 1:24,000

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Bowdens

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

See all →
VisceraAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1971
Anne JeffreysAmerican actress and singer · b. 1923
Caleb BradhamAmerican pharmacist, inventor of Pepsi-Cola · b. 1867
William E. ThorntonAmerican astronaut · b. 1929
Coby WhiteAmerican basketball player · b. 2000
Michael S. ReganAdministrator of the Environmental Protection A… · b. 1976

Questions about Bowdens’ history

What year was Bowdens founded?

The Bowdens post office opened in 1874, 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, 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.