Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana Places

S. F. Bowser & Company

Current Street View photo showing the southeast corner of Creighton and Bower Avenues from Google Maps

1301 Creighton Avenue July 2011 Street View photo from Google Maps

S.F. Bowser & Co. Oil Tank and Pump Works wagon c. 1900 at the Huntington City-Township Public Library collection at Indiana Memory digital library at IN.gov. The plant was located at the corner of East Creighton and Bowser Ave. See Horses.

Bowser gasoline & oil equipment for the home garage by S.F. Bowser & Co. Inc. Publication date c.1920 on Archive.org

  1. 1302 East Creighton Avenue, last used as headquarters for the Fort Wayne Police Department was orginally the headquarters of the S. F. Bowser & Company, founded in 1885 by the man who invented the world's first self-measuring pump. Sylvanus Freelove Bowser was one of the city's top three or four industrialists in the early 20th century.
  2. Bowser Buildings Update Update as of October 5, 2017, March 2017 Mayor Tom Henry Letter to Residents, and City Contractor Begins Work to Take Down Bowser Buildings March 16, 2017 at Fort Wayne Community Development.
  3. S.F. Bowser & Co. ; Employees, S.F. Bowser & Co. ; Periodicals, and S.F. Bowser & Co. ; History searches at The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
  4. Bowser appears over 300 times in searches in the Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Library
  5. January 22, 2024 post by the Genealogy Center on Facebook:

    Did you know that the Genealogy Center has a digital collection of historic publications from the Bowser Pump Company, located here in Fort Wayne? ⛽️

    Browse the collection here:  Bowser Ink

  6. August 7, 2023 post by the Genealogy Center on Facebook:

    New collection alert ❗️

    We now have monthly employee publications of Bowser Inc. (Fort Wayne) available within our Community Album. Check back as new materials are being added regularly.

    View the publications here: Bowser Ink

  7. It's Flag Day! Flag Day is a holiday celebrated on June 14 in the United States. It commemorates the adoption of the...

    Posted by Genealogy Center on Friday, June 14, 2024

    Friday, June 14, 2024 post by the Genealogy Center on Facebook:

    It's Flag Day! Flag Day is a holiday celebrated on June 14 in the United States. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777 by resolution of the Second Continental Congress. 🇺🇸 🗽

    This image shows S.F. Bowser & Company employees of Fort Wayne at a flag raising.

    Explore our Community Album here: http://contentdm.acpl.lib.in.us/

  8. Pumping gasoline into a 1914 Michigan automobile

    Page 12 of the December 1955 Bowser Ink at the Allen County Public Library Digital Collections at the Allen County Public Library.

    Fill 'er up-Here's one to job Bowser memories. Old reliable, the Bowser Chief Century, is shown in pre-World War I days pumping gas into a 1914 Michgan. The most popular pump on the market, the Chief Century was first built in 1913. Like all Bowser pumps of this period, the Chief Century, of Fig. 102, had the cut-steel cog-rack, centrifugal separator, accurate register, precision meter and bright paint. Notice that the Michigan's gas tank was located beneath the seat. Not only has the automobile changed vastly, but likewise the spelling of gasoline.

  9. Bowser appears many times in discussions with photos and history on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook
  10. Bowser : designers, engineers, manufacturers of equipment for receiving, storing, metering, distributing, filtering, dispensing and merchandising, gasoline, oils, and similar liquids for commercial and industrial purposes by  S. F. Bowser & Company Publication date [19--] on Internet Archive.

  11. The Bowser booster (Volume yr. 1918) S. F. Bowser & Co Oil Tanks, Pumps, and Storage Systems - S.F. Bowser and Co Publication date 1915 on Internet Archive

  12. Bowser Buildings Update on Community Development City of Fort Wayne web site.
  13. Bowser, Man and Building S. F. Bowser, inventor of the automobile gas pump, built his 1917 company headquarters in Fort Wayne with an eye for quality and workmanship. His legacy there, however, is a fading one. with photos on Indiana Landmarks .
  14. Some pictures from Robt. L. Miklues book from 1978 on the Bowser Pump & Tank Co. Bowser was a firm believer that all employees should lso be home owners. was posted Janaury 6, 2023 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook.
  15. The 'Bowser Building' may soon be gone, but history won't forget the man and the empire he created with photos by Kevin Leininger published April 21, 2016 in The News-Sentinel newspaper.
  16. Residents protest planned demolition of the historic Bowser Pump buildings on Creighton Ave. Neighbors would like to see the buildings reused and repurposed. by Kevin Kilbane published March 9, 2017 in The News-Sentinel newspaper.
  17. Contractors to begin demolishing historic Bowser buildings by Jacob Burbrink published March 15, 2017 on 21AliveNews.com. Work begins to raze Bowser buildings Y to take over land for outdoor use by Dave Gong published March 17, 2017 on The Journal Gazette newspaper.
  18. Demolition of former police headquarters on hold by CBS WANE-TV NewsChannel 15 published March 17, 2017 with a March 18, 2017 discussion by ARCH ( Architecture and Community Heritage)on Facebook.
  19. Salvage materials photos were posted April 5, 2017 and April 12, 2017 on The Wood Shack Architectural Antiques on Facebook.
  20. April 18, 2017 post on tear down with photo and discussion by RandyHarter on PositiveFortWayne.
  21. First Gas Pump and Service Station with photos and history at American Oil & Gas Historical Society.
  22. RTV6 - WRTV Indianapolis TV August 8, 2017 posted a 30 second video of the Bowser Pump history on their Facebook page.
  23. November 29, 2023 post by the Genealogy Center on Facebook:

    Happy #WaybackWednesday! Check out these then-and-now images from the Daniel A. Baker Collection featured in our Community Album 📸

    Circa 1917, Sylvanus Freelove Bowser posed in front of his SF Bowser company headquarters, where he pioneered the invention of the automobile gas pump. ⛽

    Fast forward to early 2017, and the last remnants of SF Bowser & Co. were demolished. Dale McMillen, Sr. acquired the headquarters, later leasing it to Phelps Dodge Company and the Fort Wayne Police Department for several years.

    Explore these historical snapshots and more in our Community Album: Allen County Community Album

Millionth Bowser Pump

Page Ten-Fifteen, The Dedication of Bowser's Millionth Pump in The Bowser man, volume 24 (1923-1924) by S.F. Bowser & Co. Publication date 1925 on Archive.org.

Discussed August 6, 2024 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook

1923 - S. F. Bowser Company To Hold Celebration - Millionth Pump Just Manufactured by Company

Article from Jun 20, 1923 The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne, Indiana) 1923, S. f. bower, Millionth pump
1923 - S. F. Bowser Company To Hold Celebration - Millionth Pump Just Manufactured by Company The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Wednesday, June 20, 1923, Page 1.

1923 - Pretty Lass Unveils Millionth Pump Bowser Plant - Four Thousand Ceremony Weiser Park

Article from Jun 23, 1923 The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne, Indiana) 1923, S. f. bowser pump, Millionth pump
1923 - Pretty Lass Unveils Millionth Pump Bowser Plant - Four Thousand Ceremony Weiser Park The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Saturday, June 23, 1923, Page 3.

1923 - Bowser Emplyes Interesting Ceremony - 4 Thousand People Attend Celebration Weisser Park

Article from Jun 23, 1923 The Fort Wayne News And Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Indiana) 1923, S. F. bowser pump, Millionth pump
1923 - Bowser Emplyes Interesting Ceremony - 4 Thousand People Attend Celebration Weisser Park The Fort Wayne News And Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Saturday, June 23, 1923, Page 15.

1923 - Elaborate Setting for Unveiling of Bowser Pump

Article from Jun 24, 1923 The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne, Indiana) 1923, S. f. bowser pump, Millionth pump
1923 - Elaborate Setting for Unveiling of Bowser Pump The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Sunday, June 24, 1923, Page 31.

1923 - Millionth Bowser Pump Will Not Be Sold - memorial on a concrete foundation on office lawn

Article from Jun 28, 1923 The Fort Wayne News And Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Indiana) 1923, S. f. bowser pump, Millionth pump

1923 - Millionth Bowser Pump Will Not Be Sold - memorial on a concrete foundation on office lawn The Fort Wayne News And Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Thursday, June 28, 1923, Page 3.

PUMP WILL NOT BE SOLD. The millionth self - measuring pump recently manufactured by the S. Bowser company has been placed on a permanent concrete foundation on the lawn adjoining the Bowser office building, corner of Bowser and E. Creighton avenues, where it will be kept in memorial of the celebration held in the honor of S. F. Bowser, at Weisser park, on June 22.

1923 - News of the Day Told in Pictures - Celebrating Production of Millionth Bowser Pump

Article from Jul 1, 1923 The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne, Indiana) 1923, Millionth pump, S. F. bower
1923 - News of the Day Told in Pictures - Celebrating Production of Millionth Bowser Pump The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Sunday, July 1, 1923, Page 3A.

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