Big Horn Academy Building facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Big Horn Academy Historic District
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| Location | Cowley, Wyoming |
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| Built | 1916 |
| Architect | Works Progress Administration (1936 gymnasium) |
| Architectural style | Romanesque |
| NRHP reference No. | 92000285 |
| Added to NRHP | March 26, 1992 |
The Big Horn Academy Building is a historic school building in Cowley, Wyoming. It was built in 1916 and served as a high school and junior college. Students from the Bighorn Basin area attended classes here for many years.
Contents
The Big Horn Academy Building
How the School Started
The idea for the academy began in 1907. It was started by members of the Mormon church who had moved to the Bighorn Basin. They wanted to create a school that offered both high school classes and more advanced studies.
The original plan was to move the academy between the towns of Cowley, Lovell, and Byron. However, the school ended up staying only in Cowley. Because of this, the church decided to build a permanent school building.
Building the Academy
The main building was finished in 1916. It was built using strong, rough-cut sandstone. The school was run by the church until 1924. After that, it became part of the public school system.
Later, in 1936, a gymnasium was added to the school. This gym was built from lodgepole pine wood. It was constructed by the Works Progress Administration, often called the WPA. The WPA was a government program during the Great Depression that created jobs for people by building public projects.
What Happened Next
The Big Horn Academy building was used as a school until 1985. At that time, students from Cowley High School started going to Rocky Mountain High School in Byron.
After 1985, the building was used for different things. From 1985 to 2011, it housed a preschool and several small businesses. In 2011, the building was renovated. Today, it holds the main offices for Big Horn County School District #1.
