Bowmansdale is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

located in Upper Allen Township in

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom *Cumberland, historic county *Cumberlan ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, United States, south of Mechanicsburg. It is named after Jacob Bowman, a former Cumberland County sheriff. Bowmansdale has been recognized as a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

by the Cumberland County Planning Department. The other historic districts in eastern Cumberland County include the Market Street District in Camp Hill, the Lisburn Historic District, the McCormick Road Historic District, the Mechanicsburg Commercial Historic District, the New Cumberland Historic District, the Shepherdstown Historic District, and West Fairview Village. Before permanent settlements were built in Cumberland County, numerous Native American transportation paths crossed the county, including those of the

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

and

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

tribes. Bowmansdale was a recognized stop on the Conoy Trail that ran between the places that are now known as

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

and Carlisle. Bowmansdale is home to the historic Lindenwood Farm. The founding date for the estate is unknown, but a document from the Cumberland County Courthouse recorded its sale by William Crawford to Robert Bryson in 1751. By the late 1780s, the property was home to tanning and limekiln businesses. Several buildings from the 1860s remain on the property, along with barns that are older. By 1884, Bowmansdale was a stop on the Harrisburg and Potomac Railroad that connected

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

to Shippensburg. The rail line was later purchased by the

Reading Railroad The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and commercial rail transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states that operated from 1924 until its 1976 acquisition by Conrail. Commonly calle ...

. The Bowmansdale Stoner

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

, built in 1867, was relocated to the campus of nearby

Messiah College Messiah University is a private interdenominational evangelical Christian university in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. History The school was founded as Messiah Bible School and Missionary Training Home in 1909 by the Brethren in Christ Church. O ...

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...

in 1972.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania Unincorporated communities in Pennsylvania