The Cowbellion de Rakin Society was the first formally organized and masked mystic society in the United States to celebrate with a pedestrian parade in 1830.
History The Cowbellions got their start when a young merchant and cotton factor from Pennsylvania, Michael Krafft, began a parade with rakes, hoes, and cowbells. The Cowbellions introduced horse-drawn floats to the parades in 1840 with a parade entitled, "Heathen Gods and Goddesses.https://www.mardigrasnmore.com/pages/mardi-gras-history-mobile
Gallery 1837 account of the Cowbellion celebrations of Christmas and New Year.
See also Order of Myths Striker's Independent Society The Manassas Club Mistick Krewe
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