Cowley, Alberta
It was settled in the 1880s and named by a rancher. Cowley Post Office opened in 1900, and in 1906 Cowley was incorporated as village. The community's name is a combination of "cow" and "lea".
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Village of Cowley had a population of 216 living in 96 of its 110 total private dwellings, a change of 3.3% from its 2016 population of 209. With a land area of 1.36 km (0.53 sq mi), it had a population density of 158.8/km (411.4/sq mi) in 2021.
In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Village of Cowley recorded a population of 209 living in 100 of its 113 total private dwellings, a change of -11.4% from its 2011 population of 236. With a land area of 1.37 km (0.53 sq mi), it had a population density of 152.6/km (395.1/sq mi) in 2016.
Arts and culture
Cowley was featured in the 2005 motion picture Brokeback Mountain as the fictional town of Signal, Wyoming.
Cowley is featured on a 17c postage stamp issued by Canada Post in 1980 (August 27) to mark the 75th anniversary of the creation of the Province of Alberta.