According to an article in the Benton Review "Fowler was named after Moses Fowler of Lafayette, who owned the land on which the town was located and thousands of acres around it. It was platted October 26, 1872." >From the book: Benton Co. filled up with people when the east-west railroad through Boswell started operating in 1871 and the northwest-southeast railroad through Fowler started operating in 1874. The great railroad decade of Benton Co. was in the 1870s. It boosted the population from 5,000 to 11,000 by 1880, caused all the towns in the county except Oxford to begin and grow. All the towns and villages had depots, pens to load out cattle and hogs; some had elevators powered with steam. In 1883 a new railroad came through Benton Co from the south through Oxford, Swanington, Barce, Lochiel and Wadena. It was dismantled in 1946. In 1908 a new railroad went through Dunnington, Freeland and Sheff. It carried Benton County's first 100 car grain train from the Free elevator. Until WWII nearly everyone was a farmer, someone in business to serve mostly farmers or someone living there who had been connected with farming. Most were entrepreneurs, few depended on wage income. The above is from the book. I guess the farm land was the big draw before the railroad as my family went to Fowler in approximately 1850. Karen