The original Cowley Elementary School was built in 1910, and was the home of the Big Horn Academy from 1910 until the Big Horn Academy Building was completed in 1919. The building was used as the elementary school in Cowley until it was torn down and replaced by a new building.
Two stories in height, the large brick building held eight classrooms. Over the entrance was an open bell tower. We are guessing that this was once the location of this bell, now displayed beside the sign for the Big Horn County School District #1 Administration Building.
That building was initially the Big Horn Academy, the "new building" referenced above. Constructed in 1916 at a cost of $40,000, it replaced that original building. The academy was essentially dissolved in 1924 when the school was transferred to School District No. 28, thereafter to be known as the Cowley High School. It remained the high school until, because of declining student population, it was closed in 1983, later to become the administration building for the school district.
The cast iron bell and yolk are covered in many coats of paint, which, when combined with rust on the yolk, have rendered the lettering on the yolk mostly illegible, save for "No 36", indicating that this is a 36 inch bell.
Big Horn Academy
The two-story Big Horn Academy was constructed in 1916 of rusticated sandstone that is a mottled red and cream color. Rectangular in shape the building is approximately 80 feet by 65 feet in dimension. The front/south elevation has three bays with the center bay slightly recessed; the east and west elevations also have three bays but the center bay slightly projects from the building. The three entrances on the south, east, and west sides are framed by a beige rusticated stone, and the capstone over the front entrance bears the carved legend: BIG HORN ACADEMY 1916.
In 1907, the Mormons started construction in Cowley of a stone school house, a part of which was allocated to the use of a more advanced academic enterprise which they would call the Big Horn Academy... ...in 1913 the LDS authorities started planning the construction of a permanent building to house the Big Horn Academy. The old stone school house was torn down and the new school building was completed in 1916 at a cost of $40,000. The work was done entirely by horse and manpower. Stone for it was quarried from the hills to the north by expenditure of brutal hard work, much ingenuity and a limited amount of black powder. The beautifully dressed, coursed stonework, even the large capstone including its chiseled inscription, was all shaped, placed and mortared by hand.
The Academy was operated as a church school until 1924 when its physical facilities and responsibilities were transferred to School District No. 28 and the entity thereafter to be known as the Cowley High School. The building could accommodate 400 students.
From the NRHP Nomination Form