Bowerston

• Leesville LakeBuilt 1936 · 1,000 acres

How Bowerston began

Bowerston grew from sawmill and gristmill sites on Conotton Creek that the brothers Barnhard and John Bower are said to have begun rebuilding in 1804. The settlement, first called Bower's Mills and then Bowersville, was platted as Bowerston in August 1851 or 1852 by David Bower, Henry Hoover and Nathaniel Bower, and became a village in 1881 or 1883. It lies in Monroe Township in northwestern Harrison County on the Pennsylvania and Wheeling & Lake Erie railroads, and had a flour mill, a safety-device factory and a coal drift in 1920. The 2020 census counted 356 people.

Settled 1804 (Bower brothers rebuild existing mills, per Wikipedia), platted August 21, 1851 (Wikipedia; filed 1852) or August 21, 1852 (1921 county history), incorporated April 2, 1883 (Wikipedia); 1881 (1921 county history), by David Bower, Henry Hoover, and Nathaniel Bower.

Where the name comes from

The village is named for the Bower family. Wikipedia says Barnhard and John Bower rebuilt the mills about which the settlement grew, and that it was called Bower's Mills, then Bowersville, and finally Bowerston; the 1921 county history says it was first platted as Bowersville, and a family biography there says the village was named in honor of the Bower family.

Before the town

No Native American village, mound, or treaty boundary specific to Bowerston is documented in the sources consulted.

Nations recorded here: Mingo (Seneca-Cayuga), Delaware (Lenape), Shawnee.

Timeline

1. 1804 — Barnhard and John Bower begin rebuilding a sawmill and gristmill on the south side of Conotton Creek.
2. 1816 — The settlement, known as Bower's Mills, is laid out.
3. 19th century — Stewart Price is remembered as the first merchant, the first postmaster and the first railroad agent at Bowerston.
4. 1851 — Bowerston is formally platted on August 21 by David Bower, Henry Hoover, and Nathaniel Bower.
5. 1852 — The plat is filed in court on August 2.
6. 1870 — Charles McKean is postmaster at Bowerston about this year, the first of a long list given in the 1921 county history.
7. 1875 — Silver Lodge No. 14, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, is organized on July 14 with thirteen charter members.
8. 1878 — The W. B. Penn store is established; by 1920 it is the village's oldest business, an incorporated department store.
9. 1880 — The census counts 320 people.
10. 1883 — The village is incorporated on April 2 according to Wikipedia; the 1921 county history gives 1881.
11. 1888 — Howe's gazetteer lists a Methodist, a United Brethren and a Lutheran church, the independent Gazette newspaper and a population of about 500.
12. 1900 — The census counts 526 residents.
13. 1904 — The First National Bank of Bowerston is organized with $25,000 capital, and a township hall is built.
14. 1914 — A modern two-story, eight-room school for high school pupils is built for $25,000.
15. 1918 — A coal drift is opened at Bowerston; by 1920 the vein is four feet thick, and the Mining Safety Device Company of J. A. Nolan is selling its products to mining districts in the United States, Canada and South America.
16. 1920 — The census counts 500 residents; the Bowerston Milling Company runs the flour mill on Conotton Creek.
17. 2020 — The census counts 356 residents.

Stories

From Bower's Mills to Bowerston

Barnhard and John Bower began rebuilding a sawmill and a gristmill on the south side of Conotton Creek in 1804, according to Wikipedia. In 1816 the settlement called Bower's Mills was laid out, and it was later called Bowersville and finally Bowerston. David Bower, Henry Hoover and Nathaniel Bower platted Bowerston on August 21, 1851, and the plat was filed in court on August 2, 1852; the 1921 county history gives the plat date as August 21, 1852 and says it was first platted as Bowersville.

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org · archive.org · archive.org · archive.org · en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org

Mostly private wells The water here

• Bowerston Village100% of residentsGroundwater wells (3 wells)

Nursing homes (1)

Fire and EMS stations (1)

Bridges rated poor (1)

Public libraries (1)

Facilities reporting toxic releases (2)

Money issues on the ballot since 2016: 2 of 2 passed; of those asking for new or higher taxes, 1 of 1.

Ballot issues

Elections for office

Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked.

Auditor of State record

• No fiscal caution, watch or emergency on the Auditor of State's lists.
• Agreed Upon Procedures, 2023 to 2024, released 2025-10-02

Source: Ohio EPA eDocument portal (edocpub.epa.ohio.gov), indexed 2026-10-14. Facilities are placed on the map from Ohio EPA's own map layers, EPA's Facility Registry, coordinates written in the filings, or a geocoded street address. A permit filed under a private person's name (most are household septic systems) is counted but never named, placed or linked; licenses for individual workers and open-burning notices are left out entirely.

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