Bowen's Island

John Bowen was not born John Bowen. He was Ralph William Peacock, born in Philadelphia on September 18, 1801, and he reached San Antonio in 1838 after years, it is claimed, of ranching in Argentina and trading in Brazil. In 1848 an act of the Texas legislature changed his name to that of his half-brother John Bowen of Philadelphia and Kingston, Jamaica, who had no heirs. The house on the island became San Antonio's first United States post office. When the river channel was changed in 1920, his remains were moved to San Fernando Cemetery No. 1.

What the plaque says

Bowen's Island This tract of land is a natural peninsula in the San Antonio River. It once was bounded by the river on three sides and on the fourth by the Concepcion Acequia. In 1845 John Bowen, a native of Philadelphia, bought the property from Maria Josefa Rodriguez de Yturri for $300. Bowen and his wife, Mary Elizabeth, built a seven-room home on the island for their family of six children. Here they planted fruit trees and gravevines. On the east bank of the river, they built a waterwheel to irrigate their truck farm. During the 1840s and 1850s John Bowen served San Antonio as United States postmaster and city treasurer. He was a staunch Unionist and, according to family tradition, protected fugitive slaves. John Bowen died on the island in 1867 and was buried here. Bowen's Island was a well-known garden spot and a popular setting for social gatherings and celebrations. Here the first Volksfest was held, and the Turnverein, and German Athletic Club, performed. During the 1870s it was the site of Wolfram's Central Garden, a pleasure resort. Mary Elizabeth Bowen died in 1903. During the 1920s the river was diverted, and Bowen's Island became part of the San Antonio mainland. (1985)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• San Antonio River Walk — steps away
  A Depression-era park one level below downtown, built because San Antonio refused to pave its river after the 1921 flood, and designed by an architect the project later fired.
• La Villita Historic Arts Village — steps away
  The little village across the river from the presidio, where Cos surrendered San Antonio in 1835, rebuilt by Depression-era youth crews as a working crafts village.
• San Fernando Cathedral — 0.2 mi
  The Canary Islanders' parish church on Main Plaza, where Bowie married and Santa Anna raised a red flag, rebuilt in Gothic Revival around the walls of the 1750s church.
• Spanish Governor's Palace — 0.3 mi
  The last visible piece of the Presidio San Antonio de Béxar: a presidio captain's house with a 1749 keystone, a century as shops and saloons, and a romantic 1930 restoration.

More markers nearby

• Site of the Home of Dr. Ferdinand Ludwig Herff — steps away
• The Pajalache Acequia (Ditch) — steps away
• Groos National Bank — steps away
• Site of the Old Adobe — steps away