Loyalists arrived in Bowmanville in 1794.  Like other towns in the area, early mills became the nucleus of the community.  In 1841, 500 people lived within the town boundaries.  Bowmanville Creek was renamed after the town.  Its previous name being Barber’s Creek.  In 1974, the town was amalgamated into the town of Newcastle and, in 1994, the Municipality of Clarington.