Lafayette (LA) Daily Advertiser, January 27, 1998

Duson named for town-building promoters

by Jim Bradshaw

The village of Duson in the northwest corner of Lafayette Parish was founded by C.C. and William W. Duson of Crowley, prominent real estate promoters and town builders.  The small settlement was named for them in 1884.

One of the early settlers, Jack Davis, opened a store and served as storekeeper, postmaster and railroad agent there.  The post office was established in 1889, and the town was incorporated on Dec. 15, 1909.

According to Roger Baudier's history of the church in Louisiana, St. Theresa Parish was established in Duson in 1929.  Father Justin Mirat, the first pastor, served until 1932, when he was succeeded by Father Louis Bertrand.   In 1949, the St.Theresa Hall was built in the lot next to the church.

The first stores in Duson were the DeJean Store and the Jack Davis Store.

The present school building was constructed in 1929.  It was enlarged in 1938 and a dining room was attached to it in 1951.  Before this building was constructed, classes were held in a brown, wooden schoolhouse with five classrooms.

The first school building was the small building that was later used as city hall and is now the police station.

Three companies operated cotton gins in Duson: The Cotton Products Co. of Opelousas, the Peoples' Gin of Lafayette, and the Southern Cotton Oil Co. of Eunice.  The first movie house to show talking pictures was built there in 1947.   Before that there had been a theater that showed silent films.  It was later converted to a bar.

After World War II, small lots east of Duson were developed, with small houses using brick siding paper on the exterior.  Because of that, the area became known as "Paper Town."