Bowman

Bowman is a small community located on Holliday Creek about eight miles southwest of Wichita Falls in northeastern Archer County. Settlers, many of German descent, arrived to farm in the area in the mid-1880s and included the Priebe, Mahler, Ford, Brown, Decker, Koenig, Bachman, and Dowlen families. They began a cemetery in 1885 and opened a school by 1888, which also became the site for Evangelical Church services. Eventually the growing community, originally called Springtown, was named Bowman in honor of Bishop Thomas Bowman of the Evangelical Church. A post office opened in 1892 with William H. Bachman as postmaster. He also operated a general store, and the community included C. W. Anthony, a physician; J. W. Dowlen, a justice; and Charles F. Priebe, a constable. By 1896 the town reported a population of 150, and the school had approximately eighty pupils. In 1897 a church was built.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.