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–Not graded
History · Bowman

Bowman’s post office opened in 1890, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1921 on, and the census since 1900.

1890first post office
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Bowman’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Bowman began

When was Bowman founded?

1890

The Bowman post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Dibble (1888), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 134 in 19002020 census: 788136 years
Founding year: the first Bowman post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Bowman’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos18 old photos, postcards and papers.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,198 in 2000; 788 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19213 editions of the USGS map, 1921 to 1982. Watch Bowman change.
★ What stands out · By decade

Bowman, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s18 items
Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25th service group, Air Service Command, coming home on leave1943Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25…Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25th service group, Air Service Command, coming home on leave1943Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25…Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25th service group, Air Service Command, on leave at his home. With …1943Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25…Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25th service group, Air Service Command, on leave at his home. With …1943Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25…Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25th service group of the Air Service Command, coming home on leave1943Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25th service group of the Air S…1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Bowman, South Ca…Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley, of the 25th service group, Air Service command, home on leave talking thin…1943Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley, of the 2…Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25th service group, Air Service Command, at home on leave talking th…1943Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25…Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley, of the 25th service group, Air Service Command, home on leave having dinne…1943Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley, of the 2…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25th service group of the Air S…1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Bowman, South Ca…Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25th service group, Air Service Command, on leave at his home. He is…1943Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25…Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25th service group, Air Service Command, on leave at home, coming ou…1943Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25…Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25th service group, Air Service Command, on leave at home, coming ou…1943Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25th service group, Air Service…1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Bowman, South Ca…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25th service group, Air Service…1943Untitled photo, possibly related to: Bowman, South Ca…Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley, of the 25th service group, Air Service Command, home on leave. Across the …1943Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley, of the 2…Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley, of the 25th service group, Air Service Command, home on leave. Across the …1943Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley, of the 2…Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25th service group, Air Service Command, talking with friends while …1943Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25…
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
People over time

Bowman, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,198

Peaked at 1,198 in 2000; 788 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

On the map

Bowman on the map, 1921 to 1982

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

Bowman on the 1921 USGS mapBowman on the 1943 USGS mapBowman on the 1982 USGS map1921Bowman 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 Bowman.

The story

How Bowman came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Bowman.

Read it all →

Interest in building a town at the intersection of present-day US 178 (Charleston Highway) and S.C. 210 (Branchville-Providence Roads) was evidenced in the acquisition of substantial properties of the Reddick A. Bowman estate by one Samuel W. Dibble, Sr. of Orangeburg, SC in 1887. The Smoak Tramway, a six-mile logging railroad extending from Branchville toward north Four Holes Swamp which was chartered in 1884, was also targeted for acquisition by Dibble's associate, Thomas M. Raysor, who operated the Raysor Mill near Stokes. These actions, aimed at developing and exploiting the agricultural and lumbering potential of an area that had remained rather dormant since the American Civil War, were taking place in the late 1880s. These represented the prelude to the chartering of the future Town of Bowman and the transportation and land development organizations and operations which preceded …

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Bowman, 1888 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Dibble post office opens
  3. 1890Post officeThe Bowman post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1903Post officeThe Dibble post office closes
  6. 1921On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1940Born hereJohn W. Matthews, Jr. is born here
  8. 1943In the archiveBowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25th service group, Air Service Comman…
  9. 1956Born hereHugh Weathers is born here
  10. 1967Born hereVernon Stephens is born here
  11. 21st century
  12. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 1,198
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.

Bowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25th service group, Air Service Command, coming home on leave
Retake this viewBowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John Riley of the 25th service group, Air Service Command, coming home on leave, 1943

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

3 famous people were born in Bowman

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Hugh WeathersAmerican politician · b. 1956
J
John W. Matthews, Jr.American politician · b. 1940
V
Vernon StephensAmerican politician · b. 1967
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Bowman’s post office has been open since 1890. Another post office, Dibble, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Dibble
1888–1903
Bowman
1890–today
18801950today

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

Help out

Finish Bowman’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBowman, South Carolina. Sergeant John R…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Bowman’s history

What year was Bowman founded?

The Bowman post office opened in 1890, 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 the Library of Congress (18), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via 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.