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History · Bowman Township

Bowman Township dates to 1907

Most of Bowman Township was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1968 on, and the census since 1910.

1907founded
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bowman Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bowman Township began

When was Bowman Township founded?

1907

Bowman Township dates its founding to 1907 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 481 in 19102020 census: 291119 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.The full story ↓

What stands out about Bowman 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 writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,071 in 1980; 1,470 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bowman Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMain St: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Bowman Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,071

Peaked at 2,071 in 1980; 1,470 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Bowman Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bowman Township.

Read it all →

Bowman was founded in 1907 at about the same time the railroad was extended to that point. The city took its name from Bowman County. A post office has been in operation at Bowman since 1907.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bowman Township, 1907 to 1980

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1907
    FoundingBowman Township is established
  3. 1910In the archiveMain St
  4. 1936In the archiveSod homestead near Bowman, North Dakota
  5. 1968On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 2,071
By decade

Bowman Township, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s–1930s4 items
Main St1910Main StSod homestead near Bowman, North Dakota1936Sod homestead near Bowman, North DakotaTen miles south of Bowman. Driving herd of sheep to Bowman, North Dakota1936Ten miles south of Bowman. Driving herd of sheep to B…Ten miles south of Bowman. Driving herd of sheep to Bowman, North Dakota1936Ten miles south of Bowman. Driving herd of sheep to B…
1940s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today20 recent
Bowman, North Dakota2007Bowman, North DakotaBowman, North Dakota2007Bowman, North DakotaBowman, North Dakota2007Bowman, North DakotaBowman, North Dakota2007Bowman, North DakotaBowman, North Dakota2007Bowman, North DakotaBowman, North Dakota2007Bowman, North DakotaBowman, North Dakota2007Bowman, North DakotaBowman, North Dakota2007Bowman, North DakotaBowman, North Dakota2007Bowman, North DakotaBowman, North Dakota2007Bowman, North DakotaBowman, North Dakota2007Bowman, North DakotaBowman, North Dakota2007Bowman, North DakotaBowman, North Dakota2007Bowman, North DakotaBowman, North Dakota2007Bowman, North DakotaBowman, North Dakota2007Bowman, North DakotaBowman, North Dakota2007Bowman, North DakotaBowman, North Dakota2007Bowman, North DakotaBowman, North Dakota2007Bowman, North DakotaBowman, North Dakota2007Bowman, North DakotaBank in2007Bank in
On the map

Bowman Township on the map, 1968 to 1981

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

Bowman Township on the 1968 USGS mapBowman Township on the 1981 USGS map1968Bowman 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 Bowman Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Main St
Retake this viewMain St, 1910

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Bowman Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gone or out of use
Miller Fieldairport

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Talbot TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townStar TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGem TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Bowman Township’s history

What year was Bowman Township founded?

In 1907, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1910 counted 481 people here.

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 (20), the Library of Congress (4), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.