Crowley (Images of America)

How do you build a town from scratch? The first ingredient is a dream. W.W. Duson served as the chef with a vision for a new town. With the railroad completed through southwestern Louisiana in 1881, Duson, general manager of the Southwestern Louisiana Land Company, orchestrated the purchase of land along the railroad. Railroader Patrick Crowley moved his “Crowley Switch” house depot to the new townsite as Duson stirred interest through advertisements in Midwestern newspapers. Duson blended the surveying, bringing 100 workers to clear the land, with Duson Brothers’ real estate business to help shape the town. Mixed in were special excursion trains that brought in prospective buyers of lots and farmland. Finally, a heaping helping of pioneer adventurers―including merchant Jac Frankel, physician D.P. January, farmer brothers C.J. and Thomas Freeland, attorney James Barry, banker Preston Lovell, and many others―were added to spice up the town.