Cowbellion de Rakin Society

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.