Bowie, Maryland

The town of Bowie owes its existence to the railway. In 1853, Col. William D. Bowie succeeded in obtaining a charter from the Maryland legislature to construct a rail line into Southern Maryland. In 1869 the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad Company began the construction of a railroad from Baltimore to Southern Maryland. By 1872, it was completed together with a spur to Washington DC. The remainder of the railroad through Southern Maryland and Pope's Creek was completed in 1873.

Earlier, the area was dotted with small farms and large tobacco plantations in an economy based on agriculture and slavery. However, in 1870 Ben Plumb, a land speculator and developer, sold building lots around the railroad junction and named the settlement "Huntington City." This has been declared as the founding of Huntington City in 1870. Bowie has grown from a small railroad stop to the largest municipality in Prince George's County, and the fourth most populous city and third largest city by area in the State of Maryland. The town was first called Huntington City, though its train station was named in honor of local resident, who was President of the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad at the time, and later Governor Oden Bowie. The town was subsequently rechartered as Bowie in 1880. In the early days the land was subdivided by developers into more than 500 residential building lots, to create a large town site at a junction of the Baltimore and Potomac's main line to southern Maryland, and the branch line to Washington, DC. By 1902, the Baltimore & Potomac was purchased by the powerful Pennsylvania Railroad. A second railroad entered the community when the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad electric trolley line commenced service in 1908. The large interurban cars brought rapid transit to the area, with trains running hourly. Bowie area stations included High Bridge and Hillmeade, and the Race Track. This convergence of the two rail systems induced the Southern Maryland Agricultural Society to build the Bowie Race Track in 1914. This track enabled the Belair Stud to be noted as one of Maryland's premier areas for Thoroughbreds.

In 1916, Bowie incorporated as the town of Bowie. In 1914, a teachers training college for African-Americans was built just outside the town, and is now the award-winning Bowie State University.

In 1957, the firm of Levitt and Sons acquired the nearby Belair Estate, the original colonial plantation of Governor Samuel Ogle, where it developed the residential community of "Belair at Bowie." Two years later the town of Bowie annexed the Levitt properties, and then it re-incorporated as a city in 1963. The overwhelming majority of Bowie residents today live in the Levitts' Belair planned community built in the 1960s, whose street names are arranged in alphabetical sections.

Bowie enjoys a rich and diverse historic and cultural heritage. The original Belair Estate contains the Belair Mansion (circa 1745), the beautiful five-part Georgian plantation house of Governor Samuel Ogle, and his son Governor Benjamin Ogle. It was purchased in 1898 by the wealthy banker James T. Woodward, who, on his passing in 1910, left it to his nephew, William Woodward, Sr., who became a famous horseman. Restored to reflect its 250-year-old legacy, the Mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Belair Stable, on the Estate, was part of the famous "Belair Stud", one of the premier racing stables in the 1930s, '40s, and '50s. Owned and operated by William Woodward, Sr. (1876-1953), it closed in 1957 following the untimely death of his son, Billy Woodward. Belair was the oldest continually operated thoroughbred horse farm in the country. It is said that the blood of Belair horses flows through the veins of every American race horse of distinction.

In addition to its thoroughbred horse-breeding heritage, Bowie is also historically associated with railroading. The town grew up around the Bowie station, and emerged as an important rail town.

Honoring the tradition of a rail town, the City of Bowie has preserved this piece of its history in the Huntington Railroad Museum which includes historic materials displayed in the Station's restored railroad buildings. In 2006, the City reopened the Bowie Building Association building as a Welcome Center for all to enjoy and learn about the history of Bowie. This Building is a small brick and block structure constructed circa 1930. It originally housed the Bowie Building Association, which helped finance much of the development in the early days of the community.

While the city is proud of its heritage, it is also focused on the future. It has grown from a small agricultural and railroad town to one of the largest and fastest growing cities in Maryland. Bowie is a city of 16 square miles and approximately 50,000 residents. It has nearly 2,000 acres (8 km²) set aside as parks or open space. It has 72 ball fields, three community centers, an ice arena, a theatrical playhouse, a golf course, and three museums. The city has recently added a state-of-the-art senior citizens center and a gymnasium for community programs. The city of Bowie is a dynamic, family-oriented community whose residents enjoy an exceptional quality of life. The city's motto of "Growth, unity and progress" provides a fitting description of this municipality at the start of a new century.

Bowie is home to the Bowie Baysox, a Class AA Eastern League professional baseball team affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles. Jan Scruggs, founder of the Vietnam Veterans National Memorial, grew up in Bowie. For a time, actress Kathie Lee Gifford called Bowie home as well, and graduated from Bowie Senior High School, as did the late vocalist Eva Cassidy, and internationally renowned guitar manufacturer Paul Reed Smith. Another recognizable face in the world today is former Nsync member JC Chasez, who was raised and attended school in Bowie. In the world of sports former Clevland Cavalier Danny Ferry spent several years living in Bowie and attending Buckingham Elementary.

Despite its low crime rate, Bowie has seen high profile criminal activity. Michael Bray was co-pastor at the Reformation Lutheran Church in Bowie when he conspired to bomb 10 clinics and offices of abortion supporters in three states and the District of Columbia from January 1984 through January 1985. He eventually served almost 4 years in prison for these crimes.

On October 7, 2002, a 13-year old boy named Iran Brown was critically wounded by a sniper soon after he was dropped off at Benjamin Tasker Middle School in Bowie. This shooting was one in a series of murders and attempted murders referred to collectively as the Beltway sniper attacks.

ZIP CODES: 20715, 20716, 20721

[edit] Bordering areas

Woodmore (southwest)
Glenn Dale (northwest)
Mitchellville (southwest)
Crofton (northeast)
Davidsonville (east)

[edit] Geography

Detailed census map of Bowie, MD and surrounding areas. The city is in orange.

Bowie is located at 38°57′53″N, 76°44′40″W (38.964727, -76.744531)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 41.8 km² (16.1 mi²). 41.7 km² (16.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.12%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 50,269 people, 18,188 households, and 13,568 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,205.5/km² (3,121.9/mi²). There were 18,718 housing units at an average density of 448.9/km² (1,162.5/mi²).

The racial makeup of the city was:

62.65% White
30.83% African American
2.95% Asian
2.92% Hispanic or Latino
2.30% from two or more races
0.93% Other races
0.30% Native American
0.03% Pacific Islander

There were 18,188 households out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.4% were non-families. 19.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 34.9% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $76,778, and the median income for a family was $82,403. Males had a median income of $52,284 versus $40,471 for females. The per capita income for the city was $30,703. About 0.7% of families and 1.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.0% of those under age 18 and 1.8% of those age 65 or over.

Rank by Per Capita Income in Prince George's County: 7
Rank by Per Capita Income in Maryland: 65

[edit] Government

The City of Bowie operates under a council-manager government as established by the city charter. This means that the mayor and council are responsible for making policy, passing ordinances, voting appropriations, and having overall supervisory authority in the city government. The council appoints a professional city manager responsible for supervising government operations and implementing the policies adopted by the council.

Mayor: G. Frederick Robinson
Mayor Pro Tem & At-large Councilmember: Dennis Brady
City Council:
- Kurt Kroemer - Councilmember, District 1
- Jack D. Jenkins - Councilmember, District 2
- Todd Turner - Councilmember, District 3
- D. Michael Lyles - Councilmember, District 4
- Kevin Conroy - At-large Councilmember
City Manager: David J. Deutsch
Assistant City Manager: John L. Fitzwater.
Public Safety Coordinator: Alan L. Creveling

[edit] Education

Bowie is within the Prince George's County Public Schools system.

Residents are zoned to either Benjamin Tasker Middle School or Samuel Ogle Middle School, and Bowie High School.

Bowie High School is experimenting with an "Annex" program wherein the nearby Belair Junior High building is dedicated primarily to 9th graders. This program helps keeps the 9th graders in line due to hall sweeps and ID card checks enforced by the administration. Test scores of Bowie High school 9th graders have raise significantly since the annex program was implemented. The annex building relieves overcrowding of the main building, believed to be one of the main reasons behind the idea.^{[citation needed]}

Bowie State University has provided educational services in the county since the early 20th century.

[edit] Points of interest

Sacred Heart Catholic Church [1]
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church [2]
St. John's Herb Garden
Belair Mansion

[edit] Sports

Team	Sport	League	Championships	Venue
Bowie Baysox	Baseball	Eastern League; South Division	0	Prince George's Stadium

[edit] See also

List of Famous People from the Washington Metropolitan Area

[edit] References

History from the City of Bowie official website

[edit] External links

City of Bowie official website
Bowie Boys & Girls Club
Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 38.964727° -76.744531°
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA

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