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History · Bowerston

Bowerston dates to 1851, and 41% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1880.

1851founded
0on the National Register
41%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bowerston’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bowerston began

When was Bowerston founded?

1851

Bowerston dates its founding to 1851 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 320 in 18802020 census: 356175 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1855.The full story ↓

What stands out about Bowerston’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19023 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1994. Watch Bowerston change.Boom and bustPeaked at 526 in 1900; 356 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1895 to 1929, drew every building in Bowerston.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bowerston’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewJames Couthren Borland (1877-1943) and …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Bowerston on the map, 1902 to 1994

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

Bowerston on the 1902 USGS mapBowerston on the 1961 USGS mapBowerston on the 1994 USGS map1902Scio sheet · 1:62,500

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

People over time

Bowerston, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 526

Peaked at 526 in 1900; 356 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Bowerston came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bowerston.

Read it all →

The village of Bowerston was settled in the early 19th century by Barnhard Bower and his brother John. When they first moved to the area, two mills were already built on the south side of Conotton Creek. One mill was a sawmill, the other a gristmill, and in 1804, the Bower brothers began to rebuild the mills. In 1816, the settlement called Bower's Mills was laid out and later it was called Bowersville and finally Bowerston. Bowerston was platted by David Bower, Henry Hoover, and Nathaniel Bower on August 21, 1851, and was filed in court August 2, 1852. The village was incorporated April 2, 1883.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Bowerston in 1894

Passages that mention Bowerston, cut from the printed page as they were published.

30 A Brie/ History postmaster, and the first railroad ag-ent at the town of Bowerston. Capt. H. B. Heller, of Monroe township, during" his life took an active interest in the advancement and improvement of Harrison county, and his public spirit manifested itself in many ways.
A brief history of Harrison county, Ohio1894 · page 50Read the page →
Read the text

30 A Brie/ History postmaster, and the first railroad ag-ent at the town of Bowerston. Capt. H. B. Heller, of Monroe township, during" his life took an active interest in the advancement and improvement of Harrison county, and his public spirit manifested itself in many ways.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Bowerston, 1851 to 1943

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851
    FoundingBowerston is established
  3. 1855Post officeThe Bowerston post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900In the archiveJames Couthren Borland (1877-1943) and Lizzie Alberta Miller (1875-1975)
  6. 1900CensusPopulation peaks at 526
  7. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1915In the archiveJames Couthren Borland (1877-1943) letterhead
  9. 1943In the archiveJames Couthren Borland (1877-1943) obituary in the Daily Times of New Philadelphia, Ohio …
By decade

Bowerston, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1940s3 items
James Couthren Borland (1877-1943) and Lizzie Alberta Miller (1875-1975)c. 1900James Couthren Borland (1877-1943) and Lizzie Alberta…James Couthren Borland (1877-1943) letterheadc. 1915James Couthren Borland (1877-1943) letterheadJames Couthren Borland (1877-1943) obituary in the Daily Times of New Philadelphia, Ohio on April 21, 19431943James Couthren Borland (1877-1943) obituary in the Da…
1950s–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
Today5 recent
Trinity United Methodist Church2016Trinity United Methodist ChurchFirst United Methodist Church2016First United Methodist ChurchBowerston, Ohio Post Office2016Bowerston, Ohio Post OfficeBowerston Public Library2016Bowerston Public Library2006-05-20 16-54-31conottoncreektrailsign20062006-05-20 16-54-31conottoncreektrailsign
Every building

Bowerston, building by building, 1895–1929

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Bowerston fire insurance map, 1895, sheet 11895Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

James Couthren Borland (1877-1943) and Lizzie Alberta Miller (1875-1975)
Retake this viewJames Couthren Borland (1877-1943) and Lizzie Alberta Miller (1875-1975), c. 1900

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Bowerston’s post office has been open since 1855.

Gone or out of use
Clover Leaf Minemine
1cemetery inside Bowerston
Longview

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

Questions about Bowerston’s history

What year was Bowerston founded?

In 1851, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Bowerston’s post office opened in 1855, and the census of 1880 counted 320 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 (8), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.