Cowley, Wyoming

Cowley
—  Town  —
Location of Cowley, Wyoming
Coordinates: 44°52′58″N 108°28′5″W / 44.88278°N 108.46806°W / 44.88278; -108.46806Coordinates: 44°52′58″N 108°28′5″W / 44.88278°N 108.46806°W / 44.88278; -108.46806
Country	United States
State	Wyoming
County	Big Horn
Settled	May 2, 1900
Government
– Mayor	Joel Peterson
– City council	David Banks Dexter Woodis Diane Badget.
Area
– Total	0.7 sq mi (1.8 km2)
– Land	0.7 sq mi (1.8 km2)
– Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	3,990 ft (1,216 m)
Population (2000)
– Total	560
– Density	553/sq mi (311/km2)
Time zone	MST (UTC-7)
– Summer (DST)	MST (UTC-6)
Zip code	82420
Area code(s)	307
FIPS code	56-17645[1]
GNIS feature ID	1587127[2]

Cowley is a town in Big Horn County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 560 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Cowley is located at 44°52′58″N 108°28′5″W / 44.88278°N 108.46806°W / 44.88278; -108.46806 (44.882684, -108.468193)^[3].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

At the 2000 census^[1], there were 560 people, 200 households and 160 families residing in the town. The population density was 796.5 per square mile (308.9/km²). There were 223 housing units at an average density of 317.2 per square mile (123.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.32% White, 0.18% Asian, 2.14% from other races, and 0.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.39% of the population.

There were 200 households of which 41.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.0% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.0% were non-families. 18.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.19.

31.1% of the population were under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.9 males.

The median household income was $38,750 and the median family income was $39,722. Males had a median income of $31,848 versus $20,000 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,964. About 3.8% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.3% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The current^[when?] mayor is local businessman Joel Peterson. Council members are David Banks, Dexter Woodis, Diane Badget and Dennis Woodward.

History

The town of Cowley was settled by a group of Mormon pioneers called to settle Wyoming's Big Horn Basin. The town was named in honor of Matthias F. Cowley their founder, one of the Apostles of the LDS Church at the time. The first company of pioneers arrived in the area on May 2, 1900, and began the construction of the Sidon Canal to bring water to the town from the Shoshone River. The canal was over 30 miles long and was not completed until 1904.

By winter 1900, there were approximately 18 log houses built in the area. Those original homes were built by Robert Baird, John Black, John Burke, Hyrum Cook, John Dickson, Robert Fraser, William Graham, David Lewis, Gilbert Marchant, Alfred Nebeker, William Partridge, William Simmons, George Taggart, Henry Tucker, Franklin Turnbow, Lemuel Willis, W. W. Willis and George Harston.

The first school was opened in a log house in January 1901, and the first teacher was Eliza R. Black. There were about 24-30 students.

On September 26, 1910, the Big Horn Academy was opened in Cowley, as the first High School. The first class to graduate from the Big Horn Academy was the class of 1912, consisting of 13 students. The first four-year graduating class was in 1915.

A new stone building was erected to house the Big Horn Academy in 1916. In 1925, the name was changed to the Cowley High School. The school's mascot was the Jaguars. The Cowley High School remained in the Big Horn Academy building until 1983, when the last class was graduated. There were only six students in the class of 1983, John Barnes, Ernesto Campos (a visiting student from Mexico), Gilbert Fisher, Greg Marchant, Randy Marchant and Bart Stevens. Due to the declining enrollment, the school in Cowley was closed.

Beginning in 1984, the town's students began attending the consolidated Rocky Mountain High School in Byron, Wyoming, with students from Byron, Deaver and Frannie.

(Information for the History section was taken primarily from With Book And Plow, by Mark N. Partridge, published 2003 by Family History Publishers, Bountiful, Utah, Copyright Cowley Pioneer Museum History Center.)

Education

Public education in the town of Cowley is provided by Big Horn County School District #1. High School students attend Rocky Mountain High School in Cowley. Middle School students attend Rocky Mountain Middle School also here in Cowley and Elementary students attend Rocky Mountain Elementary School in Cowley.

The Big Horn Academy Building, built in 1916, is located in Cowley. The building was home to Cowley High School from 1925-1983.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23.