Bowling Green is the county seat of Pike County in northeastern Missouri, about 12 miles from the Mississippi River. The town's most famous son is Champ Clark, the congressman and Speaker of the House whose statue stands at the south entrance of the 1917 Pike County Courthouse on the town square.
The square is the centre of a small, quiet town with a three-part war memorial honouring 1,300 county residents who served in conflicts from the world wars through to Desert Storm. Just outside town, on rural highways Y and M, a thriving Amish farming community of about 63 families continues traditional ways — no electricity, no indoor plumbing, horse-drawn equipment, and handmade clothing. Their cabinet store is widely known for fine handmade furniture. Note that the Amish prohibit photography of their faces.