Cowan Information

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TENNESSEE- Cowan, TN

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COWAN, TN
SIGHTS in COWAN

Cowan City Hall	Cowan Watertank		Downtown Cowan

McDonald Farm	7745 Sewanee Hwy Cowan, TN		A farm for exotic animals Features emus, rheas, ostriches, fallow deer, miniature donkeys, and llamas
BICYCLE ROUTES in COWAN
Mountain Goat Trail
Built on abandoned rail bed built 1853 Motorized vehicles and mountain bike trail Connects Cowan with Sewanee Total length approximately 10 miles Travels along an early railroad route Traveling from Sewanee to Cowan: Clear trail begins at St Andrews, east of Sewanee A landowner has blocked trail east toward Monteagle If railroad right-of-way is still in public domain, block should be removed immediately A trail from Monteagle to Sewanee would dramatically increase tourist flow From St Andrews travel slight downhill grade approximately 3 miles to Sewanee Start of trail wide enough for autos As trail approaches Hwy 56, it becomes too narrow for autos After trail crosses Hwy 56, it widens and starts about a 3% grade to Cowan Several view points about half way down mountain Cross over existing railroad at the Cumberland Tunnel through the mountain This section passes through deep woods and is a very scenic and satisfying trip Many side four-wheel roads branch off from trail
Recommendations for Trail Improvements Last couple of miles before reaching Cowen is the "trail from hell" for bicycles Large chunk gravel has been dumped on road bed which runs next to active rail track Giant dust clouds are produced when autos pass on this section of trail The Cowan governmental structure should fix this end of the trail This trail is a great asset to Cowan and its bid to bring in tourists The trail should be extended to the railroad museum The Cowan and Sewanee governments should widely publicize existence of the trail for bicycles

HISTORY of COWAN COUNTY

First known as Hawkins
Name changed to honor Maj. John Cowan, an early pioneer settler 1850
Incorporated in 1921

Cowan Railroad Museum
Located on Hwy 64 & 41A Complex is privately owned and managed by a dedicated group of railroad buffs Sits beside L&N Railroad mainline Housed in railroad depot built 1904 N & C Railroad constructed world's longest tunnel and steepest grade railroad 1848-1854 9 mile spur lint to Sewanee Mountain completed 155 Listed on National Register of Historic Places Features full size rare Columbia type locomotive and a caboose A 2,228 foot Cumberland Mountain Tunnel is on property, built 1849 Steam locomotive on display built by Porter Locomotive Works, 1920 Museum has model steam locomotive built in 1910 Open Thursday-Sunday, May-October Park surrounds museum Replica of first county courthouse in park
Pusher Terminal	Cowan maintains a locomotive pusher Pushes trains up the mountain to the tunnel and through it Pusher terminal has been in operation for over 120 years

Cumberland Mountain Tunnel
Built by Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad 1849-1852 Longest and steepest railroad tunnel in nation Built 1852 2223 feet long, 21 feet high, and 15 feet wide Listed on National Register of Historic Places

PEOPLE in COWAN
Cody Kilby	National banjo, guitar, mandolin, and dobro champion Regular star in Branson, MO Calls Cowan, TN his home

CHURCHES in COWAN
		Building erected 1968	Building erected 1886
Apostolic Church of Restoration	Cowan Church of Christ	Cowan Fellowship Church	Cumberland Presbyterian Church

Faith Tabernacle Church of Jesus	First Baptist Church	First Church of the Nazarene	Hope Baptist Church

Mt Sinai Baptist Church	Building erected 1929 New addition completed 1963
New Hope Church of God in Christ	Building erected as Cowan Presbyterian Church, 1910

No Name Church	No Name Church				Thorogood Street Church of Christ
CEMETERIES in COWAN
Cowan Cemetery
Established by Hugh and William Montgomery 1774 New addition bought by city and consolidated with old, 1940
Montgomery Cemetery			Established early 1800's A family cemetery purchased and expanded by city
Thorogood Street Cemetery			A family cemetery purchased and expanded by city
HOMES in COWAN
Sears & Roebuck House			518 W Cumberland St House was ordered from Sears & Roebuck catalog in early 1900's

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SCHOOLS in COWAN
Cowan Elementary School
South Jr High School

LIBRARY in COWAN
Cowan Library
PARKS in COWAN
Bill Miller Community Center Boiling Fork Park Jackson St	Playground Picnic area Horseshoe pits
Cowan Park	Basketball court Playground
Franklin County Dixie Youth Baseball Park	Ball fields Basketball Playground

RESTAURANTS in COWAN
Corner House Restaurant	Great lunch menu Located in historic home built 1913 Listed on Tennessee's Backroads Heritage

SPECIAL DAYS in COWAN
Small Town Auction	Held every Saturday night People bring items to be sold in an auction format
Street Dance	Held on Saturday nights every other week end during summer Tennessee Avenue is closed for dancing Live bands
Street Fair	Held last weekend in September Sponsored by Lion's Club Features food, crafts, music, cloggers, beauty pageant, and dancing in the street
Sampler Christmas Open House 214 E Cumberland	Held last weekend in October through the first weekend in November
Christmas Parade	Held first Saturday in December Sponsored by Lions Club

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