Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Cowan

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Cowan

Half of Cowan’s homes were built after 1990

Most of Cowan was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: maps from 1916 on.

0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory

What stands out about Cowan’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Cowan are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19166 editions of the USGS map, 1916 to 1987. Watch Cowan change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cowan’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Cowan’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Cowan on the map, 1916 to 1987

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cowan. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Cowan on the 1916 USGS mapCowan on the 1939 USGS mapCowan on the 1953 USGS mapCowan on the 1969 USGS mapCowan on the 1976 USGS mapCowan on the 1987 USGS map1916Ceres sheet · 1:31,680

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Cowan.

The story so far

Cowan, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Cowan yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Cowan is a census-designated place (CDP) in Stanislaus County, California. Cowan sits at an elevation of 75 feet (23 m). The 2020 United States census reported Cowan's population was 342.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 318 to 342 (+8%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
Famous people

Famous people close to Cowan

Nobody well known was born in Cowan itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
G
George LucasAmerican filmmaker and philanthropist · b. 1944
J
Jeremy RennerAmerican actor · b. 1971
Mark SpitzAmerican Olympic swimmer · b. 1950
Boaz MyhillAssociation football player · b. 1982
Jack AngelAmerican voice actor · b. 1930
Ann VenemanExecutive Director of UNICEF and United States … · b. 1949

Questions about Cowan’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.