The community was incorporated on January 1, 1859, and was named after Alabama congressman Franklin Welsh Bowdon. A college was established in Bowdon in 1857. Bowdon Municipal Court changed some of its practices in 2015 after Judge Richard A. Diment was shown in recordings demanding payment in exchange for avoiding jail. Later, in a New York Times article, Judge Diment claimed that he had never actually jailed someone for failing to pay a fine. Judge Diment's daughter described him as a proponent of civil rights.
Bowdon has generally mild winters, with highs averaging in the low to mid 50s and lows around 32. Usually there are one or two days each winter when lows drop below 15. Snow is infrequent, averaging about 2" a winter. Some winters however, experience no snowfall. Ice is more common than snow. Rainfall is usually plentiful in the winter. Although severe weather is not very common, it does happen in the winter. The most recent severe weather event occurred on February 26, 2008 when an EF3 tornado hit an area about four miles north of Bowdon. The fall and spring months tend to bring the nicest weather, with numerous sunny days. Highs in the spring average in the 70s and lows average in the 40s and 50s. There is often severe weather in the spring, with occasionally a tornado. Fall tends to be the nicest season, with plentiful sunshine and highs in the 60s and 70s. Towards the end of fall, lows can drop below 30. Summer is often very humid and hot, although the heat is relieved by afternoon thunderstorms which occur almost daily. The summer of 2007 was one of the hottest on record with several days of highs above 100. Highs in the summer are generally around 90 with lows in the 60s. On May 11, 2008 Bowdon was hit by a series of tornadoes known as the "Mother's Day Storm" with a few reported injuries, but no deaths.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,959 people, 815 households, and 543 families residing in the city. The population density was 576.5 people per square mile. There were 893 housing units at an average density of 262.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 71.87% White, 25.17% African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 1.23% from other races, and 1.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.40% of the population. Bowdon was in 2000 tied with Rosemont, Illinois for being the place in the United States with the highest percentage of people reporting Bulgarian ancestry. They were both tied at 2.7%. There were 815 households, out of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% were married couplesliving together, 20.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.97. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.1% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,875, and the median income for a family was $35,400. Males had a median income of $29,125 versus $19,643 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,968. About 15.1% of families and 17.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.5% of those under age 18 and 16.7% of those age 65 or over.
