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Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church ComplexSaints Peter and Paul Catholic Church Complex · Photo: Ammodramus · CC0
–Not graded
History · Bow Valley

Bow Valley’s post office opened in 1871, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church Complex. Below: maps from 1985 on.

1871first post office
1on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Bow Valley began

When was Bow Valley founded?

1871

The Bow Valley post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 95155 years
Founding year: the first Bow Valley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

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

Start Bow Valley’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bow Valley’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 Bow Valley came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bow Valley.

Read it all →

A post office was established at Bow Valley in 1871, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1907. The community takes its name from Bow Valley.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bow Valley, 1871 to 1985

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Bow Valley post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1904BuiltSaints Peter and Paul Catholic Church Complex is built
  5. 1907Post officeThe Bow Valley post office closes
  6. 1985On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Bow Valley, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Bow Valley, Nebraska from W2010Bow Valley, Nebraska from WBow Valley, Nebraska from NW2010Bow Valley, Nebraska from NW
On the map

Bow Valley on the map in 1985

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bow Valley.

Bow Valley on the 1985 USGS map1985Yankton sheet · 1:100,000

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

On the National Register

1 historic place in Bow Valley

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
5
each building in a district counts
first listed
2000
Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church Complex
Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church Complex, built 1904
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Late Gothic Revival1
Four Square1
Colonial Revival1
Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church ComplexLate Gothic Revival · Built 1904

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Bow Valley

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

See all →
Charles D. GemarAmerican astronaut · b. 1955
J
Justin BrueningAmerican actor and former fashion model · b. 1979
Adam VinatieriAmerican football player · b. 1972
C
Crissy Ahmann-LeightonAmerican swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, world … · b. 1970
Charles ThoneAmerican politician · b. 1924
Chan GurneyAmerican politician · b. 1896
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Bow Valley had its own post office from 1871 to 1907.

Bow Valley
1871–1907
18701950today
Gone or out of use
Bow Valley Post Officepost office

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

Questions about Bow Valley’s history

What year was Bow Valley founded?

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

What is on the National Register in Bow Valley?

One place: the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church Complex (listed 2000).

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 (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.