Salmon Lusk Wright

Sol Wright came from the Midwest already a successful wheat farmer, and in 1890 he bought 320 acres about five miles south of Crowley. Seed from Japan and Honduras did not suit the prairie, so over twelve seasons he selected and crossed plants until he had a rice that yielded well and survived the mill. His crystal rice of 1912 led to long, medium and short grain varieties, and the family says his seed went into most of the country's rice acreage. His son and daughter-in-law opened the Blue Rose Museum in 1965 to promote the industry.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Louisiana Oil and Gas Park — 17 mi
  The roadside park at Jennings where Louisiana's oil industry began in 1901, with a replica derrick, a pioneers' plaque and Gator Chateau.
• Prairie Acadian Cultural Center — 23 mi
  A National Park Service center in Eunice on the Cajun prairie, with exhibits on the Acadians who settled the prairies, a Courir de Mardi Gras display, free music and cooking demonstrations, and the shuttered Liberty Theatre nearby.
• Vermilionville — 25 mi
  A living-history village of about 23 acres on Bayou Vermilion in Lafayette, opened in 1990 to interpret the Native peoples, Acadians, Creoles and people of African descent of the Attakapas region.

More markers nearby

• Miller Stadium — 3.5 mi
• David L. & Jeanette Ross May House — 3.7 mi
• Crowley (North Avenue F) — 3.9 mi
• Crowley Louisiana Post Office 1913 — 3.9 mi