BlockBowen, Illinois
13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1948 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Chili Township. It lies in ZIP code area 62316. The Survey maps it on the Bowen quadrangle. 464 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 689 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresBowen fell from 494 to 464 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 494 | |
| 2020 | 464 | -30 (-6%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 13 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1948 USGS Camp Point quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Burlington quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1961 USGS Burlington quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Burlington quadrangle1:250000
- 1981 USGS Bowen quadrangle1:24000
- 1986 USGS Keokuk quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1990 USGS Burlington quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
In the county-history sources
7,635 words on this townshipHistory of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws, published 1880 names this settlement in its chapter on Chili Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.
Its only villages are Chili, before mentioned, and Bowen, of later origin, built on the line of the Toledo, Wabash & Western Railroad. These towns are both in tlie midst of thriving communities. The former has grown but little and begins to show age, and probably contains no greater population than it did twenty years ago. Bowen was laid out in 1863 by Mr. Peter C. Bowen, from whom it derives its name. It is six miles due west from Augusta, and about fourteen southeast from the county seat.
Passage source: History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws, published 1880.
Elijah C'rossland, farmer and butcher, sec. 11; P.O., Bowen; was born in Fayette count}'. Pa., in 1821, the son of Elijah and Catharine (Smith) Crossland, natives of Marj'land, father of English descent and mother of German. In 1850 he married Margaret Strickler, and they have had 6 sons and 2 daughters, all of whom are living. Mrs. C. died Dec. 10, 1871, a member of the M. E. Church. Mr. C. came to Illinois in 1862, settling in Adams county, where he followed farming, and in 1869 he came to this county, settling in Chili, where he owns two farms. He is really one of the neatest farmers in the county. In politics he is a Republican.
Passage source: History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws, published 1880.
T. N. Gillis, farmer; residence, Bowen; was born in East Tennessee in 1835, the son of John and Mary (Register) Gillis, the former a native of Virginia, and of English descent, and the latter of Delaware, of Irish descent; received his education in the common schools of Iowa; in 1859 he married Miss R. E. Haworth, and their children are William T. and Ella May. He emigrated to Adams county, 111., in 1858, and into this county in 1864, settling northwest of Bowen; for four years he kept a general store at Denver, and in 1870 he moved it to Bowen. He and his brother bought the mill in Bowen, ran it two years, sold out, and went to traveling. At the present time he is dealing in grain, and enjoying fair success. He has 55 acres of good land. He is a Republican, and while at Denver he was Postmaster; is also a member of the M. E. Church.
Passage source: History of Hancock County, Illinois, Together with an Outline History of the State, and a Digest of State Laws, published 1880.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Read the whole chapter on Chili Township - it names this place 17 more 17 times.
Storms near this place
18 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bowen in 18 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 8 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 1 flash flood, 1 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowen | $75,000 | Wind gusts estimated to be 80 mph heavily damaged several machine sheds, wooden structures, two metal grain bins, and one concrete grain bin along a path from about 3 miles southwest of Bowen, IL to about 3 miles south of Bowen, IL at 648 pm CDT June 16. In addition, two power poles were snapped. |
| August 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowen | $10,000 | Trees uprooted with moderate damage to the village hall and slight damage to a business. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowen | $5,000 | Wind gusts estimated to be 60 mph blew down some power lines east of Bowen, IL at 650 pm CDT June 10. A power outage was observed in Bowen. |
| August 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowen | $500 | Trees were blown down according to the Carthage Fire Department. |
| March 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowen | - | Also reported pea size hail. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowen | - | A public report of damage to a roof. The report was relayed by county 911 center. The time of the event was estimated using radar. |
| October 2017 | Tornado (EF0) | Bowen | - | A brief EF-0 tornado touched down about a mile west of Bowen, Illinois and moved east about eight tenths of a mile before lifting just west of the city of Bowen. Damage to trees indicated that this EF-0 tornado produced 80 mph and a width of 25 yards. |
| April 2016 | Hail | Bowen | - | A trained spotter reported penny to nickel sized hail. |
| August 2016 | Hail | Bowen | - | The Emergency Manager reported that the hail lasted for 4 to 5 minutes. |
| June 2015 | Flash Flood | Bowen | - | County dispatch relayed that Illinois Highway 61 was closed due to high water over the road, between Bowen and Augusta. |
| April 2014 | Hail | Bowen | - | A trained spotter reported hail that measured slightly larger than a quarter. |
| April 2013 | Hail | Bowen | - | Quarter sized hail fell in Bowen, IL at 326 pm CDT April 17. |
| April 2013 | Hail | Bowen | - | Quarter sized hail fell in Bowen, IL at 242 pm CDT April 17. |
| June 2011 | Hail | Bowen | - | Half dollar sized hail fell in Bowen, IL at 640 pm CDT June 10. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowen | - | Wind gusts estimated to be 55 to 60 mph were observed in Bowen, IL at 640 pm CDT June 10. Several small tree limbs were blown down. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bowen | - | Wind gusts estimated to be 65 to 70 mph were observed in Bowen, IL around 146 am CDT June 27. A power outage was also observed in Bowen and Augusta. |
| April 2013 | Hail | Bowen | - | no account filed |
| June 2011 | Hail | Bowen | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Bowen | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1885719 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 404724. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.