Joseph Eloi Broussard

Joseph Eloi Broussard (December 16, 1866 – October 6, 1956) was a pioneer rice grower and miller in southeast Texas. He was born and grew up near Beaumont, Texas. In 1892 he converted a grist mill into the Beaumont Rice Mill, the first commercially successful rice mill in the state of Texas. He also established an irrigation company (later absorbed by the Lower Neches Valley Authority) to create an irrigation system to support rice agriculture.

As a result of his work, the cultivation of rice expanded from 1500 acres locally in 1892 to 400,000 acres in 23 Texas counties by the time of Broussard's death. His leadership and landholdings resulted in rice being cultivated in peak years on some 40,000 acres in the local area.

As the mill processed rice, it helped rice become an important commodity crop of the early residents of Beaumont. Broussard also raised cattle on his property, and harvesting lumber was important in the region.

Early life and education Joseph Eloi Broussard was born on December 16, 1866, to Eloi and Mary Azema (Hébert) Broussard in Beaumont, Texas, a farming and lumber area. His maternal grandfather was of French Creole descent and had migrated to Texas from Louisiana, and could trace back to exiles from Acadia. He also was related to James Polk through his mother.

A few years later Broussard bought a one-third interest in a gristmill in Beaumont. In 1891 he founded the Beaumont Irrigation Company with a rice irrigation and canal system, the first in the state, to support rice culture in the area. In 1892 he converted his mill to a rice mill, the first commercially successful one in the state of Texas. At that time, farmers in the county had 1500 acres in rice. Broussard was instrumental in establishing the rice industry and this product as a commodity crop in Texas.

Broussard also encouraged rice farmers to organize, serving as president of the Rice Millers' and Dealers' Association (the forerunner of the current Rice Millers' Association of America), from 1907 to 1918. During the early years, he traveled with a team to Europe to market his area's rice.

Legacy and honors The 1950 International Rice Festival at Crowley, Louisiana, was dedicated to Broussard. Broussard was knighted as an exemplary Catholic in 1938 by Pope Pius XI.