Bowie

History

On July 22, 1881, Bowie was incorporated as a town in Montague County, Texas, United States. (A separate Bowie County includes Texarkana in northeastern Texas.) The town began to expand with the arrival of the Fort Worth and Denver Railway in 1882. In 1884, four men robbed the First National Bank of Bowie and allegedly left with over $10,000 in gold coins. Townspeople gave chase and eventually captured the robbers, who were hanged for their crimes. By 1913, the town had a population of more than 5,000, and included the Bowie Commercial College. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited the town on his train on July 11, 1938. He ceremonially purchased biscuits from businessman Amon G. Carter of Fort Worth, who had grown up in Bowie. On August 19, 1941, Rex Beard, Jr., robbed the First National Bank of Bowie and was captured in December of that same year. An EF1 tornado hit the town of Bowie on May 22, 2020. On March 21, 2022, two EF1 tornadoes hit the town.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, Bowie has a total area of , of which is covered by water. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen climate classification, Bowie has a humid subtropical climate, Cfa on climate maps. Record extremes there have ranged from in June 1980 to in February 1899. * U.S. Route 81 * U.S. Route 287 * Texas State Highway 59

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  360
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  304
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  211
• Red-tailed Hawk

  Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  183
• Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

  Tyrannus forficatus (Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  160
• Black Vulture

  Coragyps atratus (Bechstein, 1793) · Aves
  152
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  151
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  146

Most recent

• M 2.51 — 2025-12-03
  10 km ESE of Loco, Oklahoma
• M 2.61 — 2025-11-21
  9 km ESE of Loco, Oklahoma
• M 2.82 — 2024-04-07
  7 km WNW of Healdton, Oklahoma
• M 2.77 — 2024-03-18
  7 km WNW of Healdton, Oklahoma
• M 2.7 — 2024-03-06
  13 km ESE of Olney, Texas
• M 2.51 — 2023-09-25
  10 km S of Wilson, Oklahoma