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Welcome to Cowden ...

The village of Cowden is located in Shelby County<1>.

The pronunciation of Cowden: KOW-duhn<2>

While we don't have a date for the founding of Cowden, you might consider that their post office opened in 1872.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Cowden has a population of 583 people<3> (see below for details).

Cowden is 600 feet [183 m] above sea level.<4>.

Time Zone: Cowden lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for Cowden: 217 & 447<5>

The ZIP code for Cowden: 62422<6>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Cowden had an population of 583 people. This is a decrease of 7.31% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 4.74% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Cowden had a population of 629 people. This makes Cowden the county's 6th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 629 people, the population of Cowden increased 2.78% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 612 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Cowden.

Communities Also Named Cowden ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 4 communities that are also named Cowden - they are located in Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Tennessee.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Cowden.

Communities near Cowden ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Cowden.

  • Effingham
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Pana
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Pana is located in Christian County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pana
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,327 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pana <7>
  • Shelbyville
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Altamont
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Saint Elmo
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Windsor
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Ramsey
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
  • Brownstown
    (18 miles [29 km] to the south)
  • Stewardson
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the east)
  • Findlay
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Cowden. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Cowden.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Cowden. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Cowden.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Cowden. See our Newspapers Page for Cowden.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Cowden ...

Looking for more information about Cowden? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Cowden, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Cowden.

Adding Cowden to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Cowden in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found (so far) for Cowden was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>

From that list, the Cowden post office opened in 1872.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Cowden.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including Shelby, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Cowden. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
<3>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Cowden.
<4>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Cowden - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<5>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 217 code has been Overlayed with the 447 area code. New phone numbers in the Cowden area will be assigned with one of these codes: 217 or 447. As a result, placing a call in the Cowden area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<6>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a village (such as Cowden). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Cowden or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<7>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<8>A copy of the Blevins & Helbock Post Office list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/