Crowley, Louisiana

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The city of Crowley is the parish seat of Acadia Parish, in the US state of Louisiana. The population was 14,225 at the 2000 census. The town 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.

Crowley is the home of Mastertrak Studios. The studio that is now Mastertrak was founded by J. D. "Jay" Miller in 1955 and has hosted such notable recording artists as Paul Simon and John Fogerty. The studio is known for producing Swamp blues music, as well as segregationist music of the 1960's.

The Crowley High School "Fighting Gents" were District 5-3A Champs in the 2006 football season and had a 10-0 perfect season. Crowley is also the home of Notre Dame High School. Notre Dame is a parish-wide Catholic school whose football program has won three state championships.

Crowley was founded by W.W. Duson. Incorporated in 1887, W.W. Duson, General Manager of Southwest Louisiana Land Company, platted and developed Crowley. W.W. Duson's daughter, Maime Duson, married P.L. Lawrence, who founded the First National Bank of Crowley. The 10 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.

In the early 20th Century oil discoveries in Acadia Parish brought oil companies into the area looking to do business. Lafayette's Oil Center was initially planned for Crowley but the Lawrence family discouraged it. The descendants of W.W. Duson owned much of Crowley and the surrounding land. P.L. Lawrence often walked about town and intended to keep Crowley as such a town.

The town was named after Pat Crowley, an Irish railroad man who brought the railroad depot to W.W. Duson's land. Members of the Holland family, who are descendants of founder W.W. Duson, still live in Crowley today.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Notable people from Crowley
4 External links

[edit] Geography

Crowley is located at 30°12′49″N, 92°22′25″W (30.213618, -92.373695)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.7 km² (4.9 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 14,225 people, 5,294 households, and 3,668 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,118.6/km² (2,895.1/mi²). There were 5,904 housing units at an average density of 464.3/km² (1,201.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 67.83% White, 30.98% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 0.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.10% of the population.

There were 5,294 households out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% were married couples living together, 20.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the city the population was spread out with 28.5% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,495, and the median income for a family was $28,180. Males had a median income of $27,684 versus $19,706 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,734. About 24.3% of families and 28.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 36.1% of those under age 18 and 22.6% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Notable people from Crowley

John Breaux-Former US Senator and before that a Representative.
Jack Brooks (politician)-Associated more with Texas.
Chris Cart- Musician most noted as singer of punk band Toxin III: one of Louisiana's first punk rock bands.
Tommy Casanova-All-American Football Player at LSU and All-Pro Football Player for the Cinncinati Bengals
Edwin Edwards--Former governor of Louisiana, U.S. representative, and state senator.
Paul B. Freeland -- Presbyterian minister, genealogist, philanthropist, historian of Acadia Parish.
G. Wray Gill-Lawyer.
Winsor Harmon-Soap opera actor born on the day of the John F. Kennedy assassination.
Chris John-Former Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives.
Edward "Kidd" Jordan, jazz saxophonist, composer, and educator
Tracy Andrus-First African American to earn a Ph.D. in Juvenile Justice from Prairie View A&M University in Texas; director of the Lee P. Brown Criminal Justice Institute at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas.
Bascom Mouton-Noted Acadian musician. Many fiddlers and Acadian musicians have highlighted his work over the years. Tributes and songs have been recorded and referenced to his music. He was featured at the International Rice Festival in Crowley, LA in music and on a poster depicting legendary fiddlers of Acadian Music. A small portion of his earlier work was recorded by CODAFIL. The original audio tape was recorded in the home of the Mouton family on a rice farm in Morse, Louisiana. His wife Euzide Mouton performed with him and many other legends of Acadian music. They spoke Acadian French. The rice farm was located on a gully in a rural area near Morse, Louisiana. The Acadian philosophy of the Mouton family was that you could add a little bit to the gumbo and there was always room for someone hungry, regardless of their race, religion, or background. Many did that and were treated to music by the family. He was friends with Lionel Leleux, another famous Acadian Musician. Lionel Leleux playing his music. The web site http://louisdl.louislibraries.org has the song "Two Step a Bascom Mouton" and Waltz de Bascom Mouton (La Malheureuse) as remembered by Lionel Leleux. The waltz, VALSE À DEUX TEMPS is attributed to Bascom Mouton on the web sitehttp://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/ Varise Connor learned the tune from Bascom Mouton at a party. There is an audio tape about Varise Connor, Eric Benoit, Michael Boucet visiting Bascom Mouton. Mouton family direct descendants live in Crowley, Lousiana and in Acadiana Parish. His daughter Ruby Marie Mouton Miles has preserved his guitar, fiddle and photographs.
Edmund Reggie, Louisiana Democratic political powerhouse, confidant of Edwin W. Edwards and father-in-law of U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts.