Bowman was the son of a Virginian Confederate cavalry veteran and expert telegraph operator who settled in West Point, Mississippi, following the war.
[1] Bowman also purchased large amounts of land in Arizona and southern California, particularly several noted properties in San Diego (including Rancho de los Penasquitos [2] and Otero Ranch[3]).
(citation 7) Bowman was also extremely successful in business ventures across the Mexican border, where he owned the Foreign Club, a Tijuana gambling establishment.
[7] The luxury Resort included casino, hotel, guest bungalows, championship golf and tennis facilities, Turkish baths, restaurants, nightclubs, and its own airstrip.
(citation 11, 12) Bowman left Agua Caliente in 1934, just one year before Mexican President Lázaro Cárdenas outlawed gambling, closed the resort, and turned it into a school.
In 1945, Bowman sold the First National Bank, resigned as president of the local chamber of commerce, and bought one of the largest cattle ranches in southern Arizona's San Rafael Valley.