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B+History
History · Crowley

Crowley dates to 1886, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 72% of U.S. towns · #28 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 17 old photos and papers, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1890.

1886founded
4on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
17old photos & papers
20famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Crowley’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Crowley began

When was Crowley founded?

1886

Crowley dates its founding to 1886 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 420 in 18902020 census: 11,710140 years

How historic is Crowley?

B+

More historic than 72% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1887.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Crowley’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Crowley is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #28 of 161 in Louisiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Crowley’s overall grade.
Founding era1886, from Wikipedia: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194013.4% of homes (±4.2) · typical LA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register4 listings, 322 historic buildings, 282 per 10,000 residents · typical LA town 3.8 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 72%
NewerOlder
Louisiana towns of 2,500+ (161)Ahead of 83%

Louisiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Louisiana town has 3.8 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Crowley’s 282 sits above most of its state (96% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 322 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.2 points). Two sources give 1886.

Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Crowley’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1895 to 1925, drew every building in Crowley.A town in old photos17 old photos, postcards and papers, 1880–1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 16,104 in 1970; 11,710 people lived here in 2020.Famous sons and daughtersJohn Breaux, Winsor Harmon and 18 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Every building

Crowley, building by building, 1895–1925

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Crowley fire insurance map, 1895, sheet 11895Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Crowley, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1910s6 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA) - Acadia Parish - Crowley - ED 1-22, ED 1-23, ED 1-24, ED 1-25, …18801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA…1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA) - Acadia Parish - Crowley - ED 1-41 to 5318801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA…Modern cooking, no. 1 - J.G. Ewing, photographer, Crowley, Louisiana1910Modern cooking, no. 1 - J.G. Ewing, photographer, Cro…Modern cooking, no. 1 - J.G. Ewing, photographer, Crowley, Louisiana1910Modern cooking, no. 1 - J.G. Ewing, photographer, Cro…Modern cooking, no. 6 - J.G. Ewing, photographer, Crowley, Louisiana1910Modern cooking, no. 6 - J.G. Ewing, photographer, Cro…Modern cooking, no. 6 - J.G. Ewing, photographer, Crowley, Louisiana1910Modern cooking, no. 6 - J.G. Ewing, photographer, Cro…
1920s5 items
Crowley, La1921Crowley, LaCrowley, La1921Crowley, LaCrowley, La1921Crowley, LaCrowleyLAPanorama19211921CrowleyLAPanorama1921CrowleyLAPanorama1921Churches1921CrowleyLAPanorama1921Churches
1930s6 items
CrowleyRiceCitySign1935Pop1938CrowleyRiceCitySign1935PopFais-do-do near1938Fais-do-do nearOld Cajun Woman reaches for Garlic 19381938Old Cajun Woman reaches for Garlic 1938Sign1938SignSign1938SignRice. Crowley, Louisiana1938Rice. Crowley, Louisiana
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
People over time

Crowley, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,00018,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 16,104

Peaked at 16,104 in 1970; 11,710 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Crowley’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Crowley came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Crowley.

Read it all →

Crowley was founded in 1886 by brothers C.C. "Curley" Duson and W.W. Duson. Curley Duson was sheriff of St. Landry Parish, of which the Crowley townsite was then a part. 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.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Crowley, 1880 to 1970

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA) - Acadia Parish - Crowley - ED 1-2…
  3. 1886
    FoundingCrowley is established
  4. 1887BuiltCrowley Historic District is built
  5. 1887Post officeThe Crowley post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1910In the archiveModern cooking, no. 1 - J.G. Ewing, photographer, Crowley, Louisiana
  8. 1921In the archiveCrowley, La
  9. 1922Born hereJack Brooks is born here
  10. 1938In the archiveCrowleyRiceCitySign1935Pop
  11. 1944Born hereJohn Breaux is born here
  12. 1954Born hereVictoria Reggie Kennedy is born here
  13. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 1963Born hereWinsor Harmon is born here
  15. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 16,104
On the map

Crowley on the map, 1955 to 1971

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Crowley. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Crowley on the 1955 USGS mapCrowley on the 1971 USGS map1955Crowley sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Crowley.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA) - Acadia Parish - Crowley - ED 1-22, ED 1-23, ED 1-24, ED 1-25, …
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA) - Acadia Parish - Crowley - ED 1-22, ED 1-23, ED 1-24, ED 1-25, …, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Crowley’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

4 historic places in Crowley

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
322
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Colorado Southern Railroad Depot
Colorado Southern Railroad DepotSt. Theresa Catholic Church and SchoolCrowley Historic District, built 1887David L. and Jeanette Ross May House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Mission Revival1
Queen Anne1
Eastlake1
Art Deco1
Renaissance1
Bungalow1
Colorado Southern Railroad DepotMission Revival
St. Theresa Catholic Church and SchoolBuilding
Crowley Historic DistrictQueen Anne · Built 1887
All 4 listings
David L. and Jeanette Ross May HouseBuilding · listed 2019

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

20 famous people were born in Crowley

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
John BreauxAmerican politician · b. 1944
Winsor HarmonAmerican actor · b. 1963
Jack BrooksAmerican politician · b. 1922
Victoria Reggie KennedyAmerican attorney and diplomat · b. 1954
Chris JohnAmerican politician · b. 1960
Kidd JordanAmerican saxophonist · b. 1935
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Crowley’s post office has been open since 1887.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Hub Mobile Park
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Crowley
Independent Order of Odd FellowsWoodlawn

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Crowley’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Crowley’s history

What year was Crowley founded?

In 1886, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Crowley’s post office opened in 1887, and the census of 1890 counted 420 people here.

How does Crowley rank for history?

Crowley is more historic than 72% of U.S. towns, #28 of 161 in Louisiana. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Crowley?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Colorado Southern Railroad Depot (listed 1980, the first). 322 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Crowley?

13% of Crowley’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1971.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (14), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.