The area had already been dotted with small farms and large tobacco plantations in an economy based on agriculture and slavery.

In 1870, Ben Plumb, a land speculator and developer, sold building lots around the railroad junction and named the settlement Huntington City.

[12] In the early days the land was subdivided by developers into more than 500 residential building lots, to create a large town site at a junction of the Baltimore and Potomac's main line to southern Maryland, and the branch line to Washington, D.C. By 1902, the Baltimore & Potomac was purchased by the powerful Pennsylvania Railroad.

The large interurban cars brought rapid transit to the area, with trains running hourly.

The convergence of the two rail systems induced the Southern Maryland Agricultural Society to build the Bowie Race Track in 1914.

Two years later the town of Bowie annexed the Levitt properties and then re-incorporated the now-larger area as a city in 1963.

The overwhelming majority of Bowie residents today live in this 1960s Levitt planned community, whose street names are arranged in alliterative sections.

[13] Levitt & Sons had a long history of prohibiting the sale of houses (including resale by owners) to African Americans which led to protests during the Civil Rights Movement in Bowie in 1963.

[16] Bowie has an area of 16 square miles (41 km2) and about 50,000 residents with nearly 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) set aside as parks or open space.

In 2015, the Baysox captured their first Eastern League championship, defeating the Reading Fightin Phils in five games.

[19] ZIP codes for mail delivery in Bowie are: 20715, 20716, 20717, 20718, 20719, 20720, 20721 The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.

This means that the mayor and council are responsible for making policy, passing ordinances, voting appropriations, and having overall supervisory authority in the city government.

Postal Service operates multiple post offices including Mitchellville,[25] West Bowie,[26] and Bowie/Mitchellville Carrier Annex (adjacent to the city limits).

Prince George's County Police Department District 2 Station in Brock Hall CDP, with a Bowie postal address, serves the community.

Via I-595/US 50, Bowie has direct connections westward to Washington, D.C., and eastward to Annapolis and the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

[37][38] The following is a list of historic sites in the city of Bowie and vicinity identified by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission:[67] Maryland Historical Trust[69] In June 2016, Mayor Robinson gave honorary Bowie citizenship to Mayor Luigi Lucchi of Berceto, Italy as part of an International Youth Festival being held there.