Bowman Creek appeared on maps as early as 1791. By 1794, Thomas Pickering and a group of fifty others were raising money to build bridges over Bowman Creek. By the early 1800s, there were a few settlers in the valley of Bowman Creek. However, the land was poor and most inhabitants were located near the Susquehanna River. A surveyor named Josiah Newberry was one of the first settlers to arrive in Monroe Township, Wyoming County; he settled on the creek in 1813. The first post office in Monroe Township was located on Bowman Creek and was named after the creek.