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 historic register. 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.
As of the census of 2000, there were 14,225 people, 5,294 households, and 3,668 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,895.1 people per square mile. There were 5,904 housing units at an average density of 1,201.6 per square mile. 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.
Arts and culture
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.
Education
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 an Acadia-Parish-wide Catholic High School whose football program has won SIX state championships and numerous District Champion titles, in addition to numerous state championships in a varied number of OTHER sports, such as Men's Baseball, Women's Softball, Men's Tennis, Men's Track & Field, Women's Volleyball, & possibly others.
Tommy Casanova, Three-time all American LSU football 1969,70,71. A four-time All-Pro Cincinnati Bengals defensive back/punt returner from 1972–1977, former Louisiana State Senator.
Bill Cleveland, Crowley real estate developer and member of both houses of Louisiana state legislature from 1944 to 1964; defeated for third term in state Senate in 1964 by Edwin Edwards
Edwin Edwards, former governor of Louisiana, U.S. representative, and state senator
