Crowley, Louisiana
Crowley, Louisiana @www.crowley-la.com
Crowley is a city in, and the parish seat of Acadia Parish, Louisiana. Pop. 13,265.
Crowley is noted for its annual International Rice Festival. Crowley has the nickname of "Rice Capital of America", 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. In addition, in recent years, crawfish farming has become increasingly popular.
The Crowley High School "Fighting Gents" were State Division 3A Champs in the 1989 football season and had an 8-2 regular season. Crowley is also the home of Notre Dame High School. Notre Dame is a parish-wide Catholic school whose football program has won 5 state championships and numerous District Champion titles. Crowley is the principal city of the Crowley Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Acadia Parish. It is also part of the larger Lafayette–Acadiana Combined Statistical Area. The town is named after Pat Crowley.
Crowley was founded in 1886[7] 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 historic register.
The town was named after Pat Crowley, an Irish railroad man who brought the railroad depot to W.W. Duson's land. Descendants of founder W.W. Duson, continue to live in Crowley.
Notable people include
Edward "Kidd" Jordan, jazz saxophonist, composer, and educator
Edmund Reggie, former Crowley judge; father-in-law of Edward Kennedy
J. D. "Jay" Miller, composer, musician, recording engineer
John Breaux, former US Senator and before that a Representative
Edwin Edwards, former governor of Louisiana, U.S. representative, and state senator
See https://www.crowley-la.com/ and https://acadiatourism.org/