Who founded the Cowbellion de Rakin Society parade in Mobile?

Michael Krafft founded the parade that became associated with Mobile’s Cowbellion de Rakin Society. A young Pennsylvania merchant and cotton factor, Krafft led revelers in a noisy New Year’s procession featuring rakes, hoes, and cowbells.

The parade began at dawn on January 1, 1831, after the participants stayed awake through New Year’s Eve. The unusual name reflects the agricultural tools and cowbells carried by the marchers, while “Rakin” is a stylized form of “raking.” The event developed into the Cowbellion de Rakin Society, one of Mobile’s early mystic societies.

The Cowbellions are important in American Carnival history because Mobile claims the country’s oldest organized Mardi Gras tradition, dating to 1703. The society’s early parade was not originally a Mardi Gras Day procession; it was tied to New Year’s celebrations. In 1840, the Cowbellions added horse-drawn floats, helping establish parade traditions later associated with Gulf Coast Carnival.