Bowser, Texas

Bowser is an unincorporated community in northwestern San Saba County in western Central Texas. It lies about 9 miles north of Richland Springs.

History

The community was established in the 1870s near a bend on the Colorado River and named Bowser Bend.[1] The community was based around the farm of Mr. Sim Witted and the local ford of the Colorado was called Whitted Crossing.[1] They had a Farmer Alliance store, a school house, a church, a post office, and even a cotton gin, but as buildings were frequently destroyed by flooding, starting in the late 1880s when the school house burned, new buildings were erected on higher ground about a mile and a half south of Bowser Bend,[1] with the new elevation at 1312 ft. A new post office opened there in 1892 and operated until 1921,[2] when mail came out of the Mercury Post Office,[1] some 8 miles to the west. Today, Bowser lies near the intersection of Farm Roads 45 and 765.[2]

With the advent of good paved roads, the population shrank.[1] By the 1980s, Bowser was mostly a ghost town, with only two abandoned residences and the old school house still standing, but the Methodist church was still in use. The Church of Christ church, the Baptist church and the Holiness tabernacle had all been torn down.[1] However, beginning in the 1990s and following, people seeking rural locations moved into the area.

Demographics
  • 1896, population 100
  • Early 1930s, population 24
  • 1940s, population 50
  • 2000, population 20[2]
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References
  1. Jackson, Virginia A. (1983). "Bowser: Bowser Community". In Pruett, Linda D. (ed.). San Saba County History: 1856-1983. San Saba, Texas: San Saba County Historical Commission. pp. 428–429.
  2. Yancy, Karen, "Bowser, TX", The Handbook of Texas Online, Texas State Historical Association

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