Bowden
Town
82 O
Approximately 42 km south south-west of Red Deer.
Bowden was established in 1891 as a siding on the Calgary and Edmonton Railway, and
the post office a year later. There are three explanations for the origin of the name. The first and most widely accepted version says that a surveyor named Williamson suggested
his wife's maiden name. The second states that it recalls Bowden in Melrose Municipality
in Scotland. The third maintains that the name commemorates a town in Manchester, England.
This was verified by and early postmaster, who, around 1905 confirmed the Manchester
connection. The town of Bowden was incorporated in August 1981. The area near Bowden was originally called Lone Pine for the well-known stopping place on the Calgary to Edmonton trail.