The story of the Cowan Pottery Museum is a unique piece of local history that has national and even international, importance.  Cowan Pottery is a distinctive form of American art pottery that was produced for four years (1913 - 1917) in Lakewood Ohio, and then flourished for eleven years (1920 - 1931) in Rocky River, Ohio.  R. Guy Cowan, the founder and guiding spirit behind the Cowan Pottery, brought ceramic art and sculpture to a prominence and legitimacy not previously known in this country.  His significance in the ceramics world cannot be overrated.  Rocky River Public Library opened its doors in 1928, when Cowan Pottery was at its height of production and popularity.  Fifty years later in 1978, the Library established the Cowan Pottery Museum, as an affirmation of Cowan Pottery's importance in the art world and as a tangible expression of part of its mission to serve the community as a cultural resource.  When you walk into Rocky River Public Library today, it is clear that Rocky River values its cultural heritage and is dedicated to its preservation and promotion.  There is nothing quite like the Cowan Pottery Museum at Rocky River Public Library.