Bowman, South Carolina

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Bowman, South Carolina
settlement_type = Town
motto =


imagesize =
image_caption =


mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location in Orangeburg County, South Carolina


mapsize1 =
map_caption1 =
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_name1 = South Carolina
subdivision_name2 = Orangeburg
government_type =
leader_title =
leader_name =
established_date =
area_magnitude = 1 E8
area_total_km2 = 3
area_land_km2 = 3
area_water_km2 = 0
population_as_of = 2000
population_total = 1198
population_density_km2 = 398.8
timezone = EST
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
elevation_ft = 141
latd = 33 |latm = 20 |lats = 52 |latNS = N
longd = 80 |longm = 41 |longs = 2 |longEW = W
area_total_sq_mi = 1.2
area_land_sq_mi = 1.2
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0
elevation_m = 43
postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 29018
area_code = 803
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 45-07840GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 1246954GR|3
footnotes =
website =

Bowman is a town in Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 1,198 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Bowman is located at coor dms|33|20|52|N|80|41|2|W|city (33.347658, -80.683915)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.2 square miles (3.0 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 1,198 people, 463 households, and 321 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,034.5 people per square mile (398.8/km²). There were 532 housing units at an average density of 459.4/sq mi (177.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 29.47% White, 68.86% African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.33% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.67% of the population.

There were 463 households out of which 33.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.1% were married couples living together, 24.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.5% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the town the population was spread out with 27.4% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $22,750, and the median income for a family was $29,167. Males had a median income of $25,583 versus $18,828 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,662. About 23.0% of families and 30.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 39.4% of those under age 18 and 25.0% of those age 65 or over.

History

, 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 its chartering. The site chosen for Bowman was actually situated in the center of a rice farming country, later transformed into a major cotton producing area where the land has a clay sub-soil, ideal for this and other crops. it was located on an old road that was traveled in colonial days by people going from Charleston to Orangeburg, and which was once alleged to have been known as Oak Ridge, a plateau about ten miles long and five miles wide.

Tornado

Bowman was not without its disaster. Approaching from the west parallel to Highway 210, a tornado clobbered the town in the late afternoon of December 5, 1977, striking the downtown area, leaving three injured, streets littered with glass and debris, a few trailers demolished, buildings unroofed, and a power failure. Miraculously, no lives were lost, and a stunned and bewildered citizenry set to work immediately to clean up the town and resume a normal life again.

Post Office

in the Town of Bowman was located at Railroad Avenue and Ott Street (later Main Street) in the store of John W. Berry, a pioneer merchant, and he served as the first postmaster. The building also served as a residence, and it had the first telephone between Bowman and Branchville. The postal system of those early years in Bowman's history involved horse and buggy deliveries about twice a week from Orangeburg, and patrons from both town and surrounding areas had to pick up their mail from the post office until rural routes and carriers were organized to deliver mail outside the town limits in the early 1900s. Three rural routes were operational by 1907. The earliest carriers of record were W. H. Dukes, W. L. Bishop, O. P. Evans and Andrew Stroman, Sr. A fourth route was later added to serve the surrounding area, since reduced to three, and finally to the current two routes.

War Memorial

were contstructed for residents who have died in war:

*World War I
**James Edward Easterlin
**John Wesley Weathers
**John Moorer Livingston
*World War II
**James Edmund Berry
**Thomas Richard Edwards
**Leonard Everett Berry
**George Arthur Kemmerlin
**Benjamin Franklin Knight
*Vietnam Conflict
**James Allen Johnson
**Henry Dennis West, III
**Jessie Clarence Felder

UFO Welcome Center

Bowman is home to the UFO Welcome Center roadside attraction, which has been featured on national television.

References

External links