County of city: Pike County
Location of city: Center of county; crossroads of US-54 & US-61
Created: 1819
Elevation: 892 ft (272 m)
Population: 5,545 (2017)
"Bowling Green, the capital of Pike County, lies 12 miles in from the Mississippi River on a rolling plain, 880 feet above sea level. First pioneer here, John W. Basye, came in 1820 and by 1823 the settlement, named for Bowling Green, Kentucky, succeeded Louisiana as the Pike County seat of justice.
"Here on the pioneer Salt River Trail, the town made a steady growth. Early schools were Pike Academy, 1837; Isaac W. Basye's Normal School, 1867; and J.D.Meriwether's Bowling Green College, 1881. The Chicago and Alton R.R.(G.M.& O.)was completed in 1871 and the St. Louis and Hannibal in 1876. Limestone quarries were opened in the late 1800's. Near here, the first Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church west of the Mississippi was organized in 1820.
"When the county, named for the explorer Zebulon M. Pike, was organized in 1818, it included all of Missouri's Upper Salt River Country from which have come 9 whole counties and parts of 6 others. Many Pike Countians joined the 1849 Gold Rush, and the ballads "Joe Bowers" and "Sweet Betsy from Pike" are associated with this county.
"Bowling Green serves as seat of a grain, livestock, and fruit farming county here in the Glacial Plains Region of Missouri. Sac and Fox Indians ceded claims to the area in 1804 and again in 1824. During the War of 1812, a number of settlers who came to the county from Ky, N.C., and S.C. as early as 1808 found protection in Buffalo Fort near Louisiana. In the Civil War, the only action in the county was at nearby Ashley, 1862, when some 30 Union troops held the town against a raid by 150 Confederates. In 1861, 8 companies of Union troops trained here.
"Bowling Green was the home of famed Congressman, speaker of the House, James Beauchamp (Champ) Clark (1850-1921). His son, Bennett Champ Clark (1890-1954), U.S. Senator, was born here, and here also were born diplomat John F. Swift (1829-1891), and Admiral W.R. Purnell (1886-1955). Elliot W. Major, 33rd governor of Mo. lived here.
"Points of interest here include the state statue of Champ Clark by F.C. Hibbard; the Clark House known as Honey Shuck;1 the J.W. Basye2 and Purnell Houses; and Purnell memorial plaque at the courthouse." ~ State Historical Society of Missouri
Footnotes: corrections and updates.
1. In 1976, Champ Clark's Honey Shuck was named to the National register of Historic Places.
2. After a 1978 fire caused extensive damage, the J.W. Basye house was razed in 1979.
Bowling Green, Kentucky:
"Bowling Green is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. As of 2018, its population of 68,401 made it the third most-populous city in the state after Louisville and Lexington; its metropolitan area, which is the fourth largest in the state after Louisville, Lexington, and Northern Kentucky, had an estimated population of 177,432; and the combined statistical area it shares with Glasgow has an estimated population of 231,608.
"Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. The city was the subject of the 1967 Everly Brothers song "Bowling Green".