Crowley, Louisiana
Acadia Parish
(submitted by and photos by Gerald & Tammy Westmoreland)
Crowley is on US Hwy 90 about 6 miles west of Rayne. GPS: 30.214167, -92.374444
Crowley is a city in, and the parish seat of, Acadia Parish in Louisiana. As of the 2020 United States census, Crowley had a population of 11,710
Crowley was founded in 1886 by C.C. Duson and W.W. Duson. Incorporated in 1887, W.W. Duson, General Manager of Southwest Louisiana Land Company, plotted and developed Crowley. W.W. Duson's daughter, Maime Duson, married Percy Lee Lawrence, who founded the First National Bank of Crowley. The 7-story building was once the tallest building between Houston and New Orleans. They lived with their three children, P.L. Jr., Pattee, and Jack at 219 East 2nd Street. The house is now on the National Regestry of Historic Places.
The town was named after Pat Crowley, an Irish railroad owner who brought the railroad depot to W.W. Duson's land. Descendants of founder W.W. Duson continue to live in Crowley.
Crowley is noted for its annual International Rice Festival. Crowley has the nickname of "Rice Capital of the World", because at one time it was a major center for rice harvesting and milling. Today, Crowley still has a number of rice mills and rice is the main crop of many local farmers.
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