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Welcome to Bowen ...

The village of Bowen is located in Hancock County<1>.

The pronunciation of Bowen: BOH-uhn<2>

While we don't have a date for the founding of Bowen, you might consider that their post office opened in 1887.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Bowen has a population of 457 people<3> (see below for details).

Bowen is 690 feet [210 m] above sea level.<4>.

Time Zone: Bowen lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for Bowen: 217 & 447<5>

The ZIP code for Bowen: 62316<6>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Bowen had an population of 457 people. This is a decrease of 7.49% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 14.58% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Bowen had a population of 494 people. This makes Bowen the county's 9th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 494 people, the population of Bowen decreased 7.66% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 535 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Bowen.

Communities Also Named Bowen ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 18 communities that are also named Bowen - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado (2), Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Ontario, Tennessee and West Virginia.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Bowen.

Communities near Bowen ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Bowen.

  • Hamilton
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Carthage
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Colchester
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Camp Point
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Mendon
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Clayton
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Golden
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Ursa
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
  • Augusta
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Plymouth
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Bowen. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Bowen.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Bowen. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bowen.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Bowen. Our list includes 4 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Bowen.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Bowen ...

Looking for more information about Bowen? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Bowen, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Bowen.

Adding Bowen to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Bowen in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found (so far) for Bowen was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>

From that list, the Bowen post office opened in 1887.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Bowen.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including Hancock, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Bowen. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
<3>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Bowen.
<4>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Bowen - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<5>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 217 code has been Overlayed with the 447 area code. New phone numbers in the Bowen area will be assigned with one of these codes: 217 or 447. As a result, placing a call in the Bowen area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<6>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a village (such as Bowen). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Bowen or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<7>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<8>A copy of the Blevins & Helbock Post Office list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/