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History · Bowling

Bowling’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Bowling. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
0recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Bowling Township is located in Rock Island County, Illinois. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,414 and it contained 1,455 housing units.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 3,414 to 3,287 (-4%). Half of its homes were built before 1976.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bowling yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Bowling’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bowling’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people close to Bowling

See all 21 →
Madison KeysMadison KeysRock Island · 7 miEddie AlbertEddie AlbertRock Island · 7 miKen BerryKen BerryMoline · 10 miGAGabriel AlmondRock Island · 7 miJune HaverJune HaverRock Island · 7 miLLissieRock Island · 7 mi
By decade

Bowling, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Bowling is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Bowling has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Sherrard Banking Company in Sherrard, 6.5 miles away.

Bowling and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Bowling. Tap a dot.
Sherrard Banking CompanyBlack Hawk Museum and LodgeChippiannock CemeteryJoseph S. McHarg HouseJohn Schricker HouseBuffalo High School

Closest to Bowling

Sherrard Banking CompanySherrard · Building6.5miBlack Hawk Museum and LodgeRock Island · Built 19396.7miChippiannock CemeteryRock Island · Built 18507.8miJoseph S. McHarg HouseDavenport · Building8.4miJohn Schricker HouseDavenport · Building8.4mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Sherrard Banking Company’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Bowling?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Bowling’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Oak Grove📜 Reynolds📜 Blackhawk📜 Milan
We left the porch light on

Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Bowling, ILRock Island CountyView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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