The City of Bowie was shaped by forward-thinking pioneers of business, education, and industry in the late nineteenth century. Located along important trade and travel routes across Texas, the area’s permanent settlement began in the 1850s at Queen’s Peak, four miles north of Bowie. Bowie was established when the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad bought acreage there in the 1870s from Mrs. A. Lavonia (Stallings) Lindsay, J.I.G. Cowan, James W. Stallings, and J.G. Cummins, creating the downtown site. As workers laid track from Decatur to Bowie, they lived in tents beside the line, giving the place the name Tent City. After the railroad was completed, permanent houses and buildings were erected. Settlers named the town Bowie after Texas hero James Bowie, a name they associated with courage, strength, and faith. The town incorporated in 1883 and became a market and financial center for farmers and ranchers between Fort Worth and Wichita Falls. Churches, schools, and fraternal organizations were established for citizens and their children. During the Great Depression, the Public Works Administration built rock walls and buildings in Elmwood Cemetery and Pelham Park. By the mid-twentieth century, Bowie was the largest city in Montague County, growing from a railroad and farming community into a diverse city that embraces its heritage.