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Cowan

Ghost town · Quay County, New Mexico

Forrest quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1971, 1:24,000)
Forrest quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1971, 1:24,000) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Cowan is a ghost town in Quay County, New Mexico. It is one of 13 former communities in Quay County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 2nd among the 31 New Mexico counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Cowan as a historical populated place on the Forrest topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 34.8119° N, 103.5561° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleForrest
Elevation4,737 ft
Nearest living townGrady, NM
Distance to it13.7 miles
GNIS feature ID920542
Coordinates34.81194, -103.55611

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Cowan is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Grady, NM (population 106), about 13.7 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 4,737 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Cowan?

Cowan is in Quay County, New Mexico, at 34.8119, -103.5561.

How many ghost towns are in Quay County?

Quay County, New Mexico has 13 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.