A Tour of Cowley

"Neath the crest of Bighorn Mountains, with its glorious view,
Proudly stands the school we honor, Cowley, hail to you."
--as sung by many Cowley Pep Clubs

Some of my good friends have been curious about what my little hometown looks like and asked me to take some pictures when I visited there this summer. (If you missed my ode to Cowley go here.) Having taken the pictures, ever so long ago, I am finally giving you all a tour today. I don't know if most of you can picture how small 455 people is. Imagine this: When I moved to So. California, my entire town could have easily lived in my apartment complex. Kind of blew my mind.

So, without further ado, here is Cowley's downtown district:


A closer look at the main businesses:


The Cowtown Cafe. Now this is a big deal. It didn't exist when I was a kid. We had to go to the next town for a restaurant, and then nearest McDonald's was 45 minutes away.


This is the most recent business addition, as well as the most recent hubbub. I guess someone is going to put a salon in and they thought painting the original brick turquoise was a great idea. Many of the residents are NOT happy.


Here is the Cowley Mercantile, or The Merc as the locals call it. The original Merc was in a much older building that has since been torn down, but the general feel is about the same. It is where we would hang out at night, cutting up, talking and maybe throwing a few tomatoes at passing truckers: The average rural teenage rowdiness, I suppose. Notice there is only one gas pump which does not accept debit cards. I had to figure that whole business out when I moved to California, too. I know, I know! I'm sure other parts of the state are more technologically advanced now, but 10 years ago? Not so much.


This is a view of main street from one end to the other. Yes, it is the entire length of the town.


The LDS Church is on the other side of Main street. It's location in the center of town was no accident. Remember this town was settled by a small group of Mormons sent up from Utah by Brigham Young.


Next to the church is the old Relief Society Building. It was abandoned when I was a kid and no longer used by the church, so I don't know much about its history. Now, however, it has been restored and is used as the Town Hall and Museum. That's right, I said museum.


Here is the entrance to the Bighorn Academy which was built by the settlers in the early 1900's. It served as the local high school for the surrounding towns. My grandmother, for example, lived in Byron, just 7 miles away, and boarded in Cowley during the week to attend the Academy. Eventually, it became the town's high school until we consolidated with 3 other towns in 1983. I was the only one of my siblings not to attend here.


This is the log gym, also built by the early settlers. It was used as the high school's gymnasium until 1983 as well. It is still used by the town for some basketball practices and social functions. Some people have been married there. Here's another shot:




This view would seem to be out of town aways, but it can be seen just at the turn as you enter town on main street. Yes, it is cow and farmland here.

So there is your little tour of my little hometown. The only main buildings I forgot are the post office and the Waterhole #1 (town bar). No town in Wyoming would be complete without one of those.

Anyway, it isn't much I know, but I still love many things about it. Just like these hollyhocks in a neighbors yard, life there is simple and beautiful in so many ways.



Come back tomorrow and I'll give you a peek at at some of the things to do around them there parts.