James Cowgill (April 2, 1848 – January 20, 1922) was State Treasurer of Missouri from 1908 to 1912 and Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri from 1918 until he died in office.
Cowgill was born April 2, 1848, on a farm in Henry County, Indiana.
In 1864, He joined the Union Army in the American Civil War.
He was part of the 9th Indiana Infantry and served until the end of the war in 1865.
He was elected presiding Judge of the Caldwell County Court in 1882 and in 1890.