The plaque bearing the text below is mounted in front of the striking red and beige sandstone building which was originally the schoolhouse of the Big Horn Academy. Nearby is the second building of the Big Horn Academy.
The second building, not mentioned on the plaque, was a WPA project built by the men of the community for $10,000 in 1936 as a gymnasium for the school. Since its construction, however, the building has served the community as a community hall as well as a gymnasium and, like the school building, is now owned by the town of Cowley.
BIG HORN ACADEMY
In 1900 the prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Lorenzo Snow, sent settlers to northern Wyoming. Under the direction of Apostle Abraham Owen Woodruff, the settlers were to establish two communities, Byron and Cowley, and build the Sidon Canal, which would furnish water from the Shoshoni River to the surrounding communities.
In Stake Conference, September 11, 1908, Apostle David O. McKay announced that a church school would be built to accommodate church members in this section of Big Horn County. The south west corner of the church block in Cowley was the chosen site for the new two-story school. Ground breaking for the building occurred November 5, 1915.
This native-sandstone building, with its inscription stone over the south entrance, was a tribute to the ingenuity and strength of those early pioneers. The huge inscription stone, twelve feet long, four feet wide, and two feet thick, weighed about four tons and was cut in one solid piece. The inscription, cut by L. C. Jensen, reads: "Big Horn Academy 1916." All of the stones used for the building's construction had to be hauled from hills five miles north of Cowley, shaped at the site, and set in place without the benefit of power equipment.
The new academy opened its doors for students in September 1919. Approximately 85-95 students came from surrounding communities; many lived in Cowley during the school year. The building was new, modern, and equipped with a heating plant and ventilating system. The Academy existed for fifteen years from 1909-1924 and played a major role in this area.
The Academy was discontinued in 1924; the building was sold to the school district and used until 1983 as a high school. Since that time, it has been used as a pre-school and for private business. In 2011 it was extensively remodeled to become the administration building for Big Horn County School District Number One.
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No. 567 |
Sage Brush Camp
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