The village was named after Bowling Green, Kentucky, by a retired postal worker who had once delivered mail there.

[11][12] In 1868 Bowling Green was designated as the county seat, succeeding Perrysburg.

[13] With the discovery of oil in the area in the late 19th and early 20th century, Bowling Green enjoyed a boom to its economy.

The results of wealth generated at the time can still be seen in the downtown storefronts, and along Wooster Street, where many of the oldest and largest homes were built.

In late 1922 or early 1923, Coats Steam Car moved to the area and hired numerous workers.

Bank robbers Pretty Boy Floyd and Billy the Killer encountered police in Bowling Green in April 1931.

[18] A runaway freight train carrying hazardous liquids passed through Bowling Green in 2001, in what is known as the known as the CSX 8888 incident.

It traveled more than 65 miles south of Toledo before being stopped by a veteran railroad worker near Kenton; he jumped into the train while it was moving.

[20] Bowling Green is within an area of land that was once the Great Black Swamp which was drained and settled in the 19th century.

[citation needed] As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 29,636 people, 10,266 households, and 4,434 families living in the city.

[citation needed] Lubrizol maintains a soap and surfactant production plant in Bowling Green.

[30] Ohio's first utility-sized wind farm is located along U.S. Route 6 just west of the city limits.

The Bowling Green Early Childhood Learning Center (Montessori) offers kindergarten and Plan, Do and Talk goes up to grade three.

[37] Bowling Green has the main branch of the Wood County District Public Library.

[39] Bowling Green State University offers shuttle services via its own buses with routes throughout campus and the downtown area.