In the early 1900s, the main industries in the watershed of Bowman Creek included tannery and agriculture. The creek and its tributary Hettesheimer Run were used as an industrial supply in the community of Noxen during this time period. Additionally, the creek's water flow powered a gristmill. The Lehigh Valley Railroad passed through the watershed of the creek and ran parallel to it in its upper reaches in the early 1900s. The Noxen railroad depot was constructed in 1893 in the creek's watershed and is now owned by the North Branch Land Trust. Splash dams on the creek historically supplied ice to the Wyoming Valley.