Cowles Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

Mailing ZIP code: 68932

Cowles Area Cameras

Village · Webster County · Population 21 (2020 census) · ZIP 68930 · Founded 1878 · Peak population 224 (1930)

About Cowles

Cowles is a village of 21 near the center of Webster County, on the high bottomland of Elm Creek and the railroad from Hastings, about 7 miles north-northeast of Red Cloud. The S-91B spur runs 3.6 miles west to US 281. It is the smallest incorporated place in the county and gets its mail through Blue Hill (68930).

History

A post office called Edna opened here in May 1877 and was renamed Cowles in January 1879. A. B. Smith platted the town for the Burlington in September 1878, on John Poyer's farm, as the line from Hastings to Red Cloud was built, and it was named for W. D. Cowles, the railroad's former general freight agent, who had died in 1876. Thomas & Ward opened the first store in February 1879, and by 1890 Cowles had about 200 people, the Bank of Cowles, two elevators, a hotel, the Cowles Herald and Methodist and Congregational churches.

Cowles incorporated in 1912. A three-story brick consolidated school opened in 1915 and graduated its first senior class in 1920; it closed in 1959. The Burlington ran Sunday excursions from Hastings, and in 1930 its president, Ralph Budd, came to a railroad employees' picnic here. The village peaked at 224 people in 1930; the post office became a branch of Blue Hill in 1959 and closed in 1960.

Highways and trails through Cowles

Route	One way	Other way
S-91BState spur into the village	West 3.6 mi to US 281	East end in Cowles

Nearby towns

Amboy	about 6 mi south	County roads and US 136
Red Cloud	about 7 mi south-southwest	S-91B and US 281
Rosemont	about 9 mi north-northeast	County roads
Guide Rock	about 9 mi southeast	County roads
Blue Hill	about 11 mi north	S-91B and US 281
Bladen	about 13 mi northwest	US 281, NE 4 and S-91A

Things to see

The Cowles Consolidated School marker, Adams St. east of 5th St. · Elm Creek WMA, with a trout stream stocked in spring and fall, a few miles south · Cowles Cemetery, on the hill north of town

Schools and health care

Schools: No school in Cowles since 1959; the nearest are Red Cloud Community Schools (about 7 mi) and Blue Hill Community Schools (about 11 mi)

Health care: No clinic in Cowles; nearest hospital: Webster County Community Hospital, 621 N. Franklin St., Red Cloud, (402) 746-5600, a 13-bed critical access hospital

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); Nebraska State Gazetteer (1890); Who's Who in Nebraska, Webster County (1940); NEGenWeb Webster County; History Nebraska and its historical markers; National Park Service; National Register of Historic Places; Willa Cather Foundation; Visit Red Cloud; Nebraska Game and Parks; Nebraska Department of Transportation; school, hospital and library websites. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.