On July 22, 1881, Bowie was incorporated as a town in Montague County, Texas. (There is also a Bowie County, which includes Texarkana in northeastern Texas.) The town began to expand with the arrival of the Fort Worth and Denver Railway in 1882. In 1884, four men robbed the First National Bank of Bowie and allegedly left with over $10,000 in gold coins. Townspeople gave chase and eventually captured the robbers, who were hanged for their crimes. By 1913, the town had a population of more than 5000, and included the Bowie Commercial College.