New Cowley Heritage Center offers tour of homes

By: 
David Peck

The community museum in Cowley has a new mission – and a new historic tour of homes.

Formerly the Cowley Pioneer Museum, the center of Cowley history in the top floor of the Cowley Town Hall has expanded its mission statement and has been renamed the Cowley Heritage Center, committee member Edie Crosby said.

“We recognize the pioneers who established this area, but there continue to be historical events and citizens who bring memorable change to our town beyond the first pioneer settlers,” Crosby said. “Our mission is to preserve the stories of early settlers but also of all citizens who have lived or are living in Cowley. When you visit the museum, you may even find your own name and family preserved in news articles, pictures, obituaries or memorabilia.”

As part of the new mission, the Heritage Center is offering a historic home tour featuring homes built in the early 20th century.

“As we look about our town, we have identified 14 homes which were built between 1900 and 1910 and still look much the same as they did when they were built,” Crosby said. “We want to honor the original builders and the residents of these homes for building and preserving them.”

Plaques have been placed outside each home to identify the home as historic, and the Heritage Center committee created a brochure listing the 14 homes, each home’s builder and the current residents, plus a photograph of each home and a map showing where the homes can be found.

The brochure is available at the Cowley Town Hall.

“We encourage visitors and citizens to tour our town as we recognize and honor the heritage of the great builders of homes and our community,” Crosby said.

The Cowley Heritage Center is open every Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon and by appointment. Contact numbers are 307-250-2532 and 307-548-2145.