The Age: Beaumont Rice Mills shuts down after 132 years

By Marie Hughes, director of the Chambers County Museum at Wallisville

The sprawling historic Beaumont Rice Mills, situated at 1800 Pecos Street in Beaumont, Texas, loomed bleak and large, dominating the landscape as I approached for an interview with the mill president, Louis Broussard, Jr. His son, Jacob, arrived just in time to direct me to the third-story office where the business of the mill was being wrapped up.

As I climbed the steep, narrow concrete steps—ascended multiple times a day by founder Joseph Eloi Broussard, Sr. beginning well over a century ago—I couldn’t help but notice the quietness that wrapped around my ascent. The once continual rolling of conveyor belts moving bags of rice was gone. The rhythmic sound of augers and the gentle sound of falling rice being moved to designated bins had also vanished. No longer did the rumbles and rattles of trains and trucks arriving to transport the rice to market echo through the space, and the constant humming of the monstrous motors that once kept the wheels turning had ceased.

As of June 24, 2024, they turn no more. From the quietude of the stairwell, the mill seemed to whisper to me, “Ahhhh, you should have seen us back in the day!”

Joseph Eloi Broussard, descended from tough Acadian pioneer stock, was born on December 18, 1866, on the old Hebert homestead on Hillebrandt Bayou in Jefferson County. After the early death of his father, shortly after J.E.’s first birthday, his mother remarried Lovan Hamshire, and J.E. was raised on the family ranch near the present site of Hamshire, where he rode the ranges working cattle. After attending school in Galveston for three years, he began delivering mail on horseback in the area of Taylor’s Bayou. In 1885, a post office was established there, with J.E. becoming the first postmaster. He named the post office LaBelle after his fiancée, Mary Belle Bordages, whom he married in 1889.

Like most trailblazers, J.E. Broussard was gifted with the ability to foresee what could be and had the wisdom and motivation to make it happen. Although well-established in rural ranching life, after his marriage to Belle, he began to feel the tug of the city. They relocated to Beaumont, where J.E. bought a one-third interest in a corn and grist mill from C.L. Nash and J.S. Price, where grain was turned into flour. Within three years, he converted it into The Beaumont Rice Mills, the first rice mill in Texas, which began operation in 1892.

J.E. was very familiar with the growing of rice, as his Hebert ancestors had been rice farmers in Louisiana before relocating to Texas. Louisiana’s rice boom started around 1884 with the introduction of mechanical harvesting equipment, but due to pricey Louisiana land, many of the farmers headed across the state line to Texas, where land was abundant and cheap.

“I literally grew up in the rice industry,” said J.E. Broussard, Sr. in a former interview. “There was never any doubt in my mind that I wanted to play a part in this industry.”

And play a part he did, for he is credited as being one of the major contributors to the development of the rice industry in Texas.

However, three years of drought dealt a heavy blow to the Providence rice crops, and J.E. knew something had to be done if the rice industry was to survive. Just prior to converting the mill, J.E., along with W.G. Lovell and B.C. Hebert, built small pumping plants on Taylor’s Bayou to water the crops. This effort eventually led to the formation of the Beaumont Irrigation Company in 1898. Next came the pumping plant on Pine Island Bayou, which watered 3,000 acres in its first year.

“The two things that bothered me the most when I was building up the business were water and credit,” J.E. said in a 1954 interview with reporter Sigman Byrd.

“I solved the water problem by throwing up levees and pumping water out of Pine Island Bayou,” he stated.

The 1898 Beaumont Irrigation Company was co-founded by Broussard, along with W.S. Davidson, J.F. Goodhue, and his brother-in-law, I.R. Bordages. The initial canal led to the formation of the Lower Neches Valley Authority, which pumps out of the Neches River.

The second problem J.E. encountered was that banks considered rice farmers a high-risk investment and refused to loan them money. Once again, J.E. saw the need and rose to the occasion, making Beaumont Rice Mills the first lending institution for farmers, enabling them to get their crops planted.

Beaumont Rice Mills in 1911

By 1905, the mill’s business had expanded to the point that they outgrew their original facility. Land was purchased on the outskirts of town at 1800 Pecos St., and a new mill was built. Mr. Broussard had wanted to introduce new equipment designs and methods of operation, and this provided the opportunity to do so. Three of these machines, known as monitors, remained in use for many years and were identified in the milling trade simply as “The Broussard Special.”

Tragically, less than a month after opening, the $85,000 structure was consumed by fire, reducing it to a smoldering mass of ruin within an hour. The only building saved was the seven-story rough rice elevator located on the east side of the mill. Insurance fell $40,000 short of covering the loss. Standing amidst the ashes, Joe Broussard surveyed the damage, processed the loss, and true to his character, made a plan. The next day, he announced they would rebuild even bigger. An eternal optimist, he chose never to see his glass as half empty but half full. He quickly instructed the employees to return to the old mill and continue milling rice.

As written in the 50-year anniversary book, one veteran employee recalled, “We took a look at what was left, picked up our dinner pails, moved back to the old plant and started milling rice again without losing a day.”

Peddling Rice Across the Pond

In 1907, J.E. was one of the original organizers and first president of the newly formed Rice Millers and Dealers Association, the forerunner of the present Rice Millers Association of America. He continued to hold the office of president for the first five years. However, 1909 dealt another hard blow to the rice industry as surplus rice threatened financial disaster. Out of this crisis, the Southern Rice Growers’ Association was formed, launched by Frank Randolph of the Crowley Signal. Randolph rallied prominent rice growers from all over the rice belt to be a part of the newly formed organization, hoping to create a stable market for rice.

J.E. became a board member and director of the organization, once again stepping up to ensure the industry’s success. In May 1911, he traveled to Germany and Holland to find new markets for American rice. Accompanying him was his long-time friend, Theodore Willich, a rice importer and exporter in New York City. They managed to sell the rice to the firm of Van Schardenburg of Rotterdam, Holland, which purchased all 250,000 pockets (bags) of available U.S. surplus rice, opening the gateway to European markets. This transaction was reported to be the largest single sale for foreign markets ever from the United States at that time. The rice was sent in three separate shipments via the Port Arthur port, with three-fourths of the rice shipped from Texas farms and the remainder from Arkansas and Louisiana farms.

The Rotterdam mill held the rice for two years and then sold a quarter of it back to the United States. Willich was the buyer and turned a sweet profit when he resold the rice to the New Orleans Rickert Rice Mill. Unfortunately, the Von Schardenburg mill, the largest in Rotterdam in 1911, was destroyed by German bombings during World War II.

In 1942, Willich traveled to Texas to visit J.E. during the 50th anniversary of the mill, plopping a yellowed sample of 33-year-old Honduras rice on J.E.’s desk. At first puzzled, J.E. laughed when he realized it was the same sample that had traveled to Europe with them in 1911.

An interesting side note on Willich is that his great-great-grandfather, George Willich, emigrated from Germany and landed in Anahuac, Texas, in 1834. The Chambers County Museum at Wallisville possesses the letter he wrote home to Germany upon his arrival, chronicling his trip from Germany to Anahuac. This letter was donated to the museum by Lloyd Maxwell, grandson of Elmer Boyt. Lloyd also informed me that in 1942, the same year Theodore traveled to the 50th anniversary of the mill, his Uncle Pat Boyt and father, George Maxwell, visited with Theodore Willich at an American Rice Growers Association meeting in Lake Charles, where Willich owned a small mill. They presented a copy of his great-great-grandfather’s letter to him at that time.

What was the secret to J.E. Broussard’s success in everything he put his hand to? Integrity and service. Integrity is essential, but with J.E., it was more than that. As I have examined his life, some fundamental qualities are evident. His ability to recognize opportunity and make it happen, coupled with his eternal optimism and capacity to roll with the punches, certainly aided in his success and enabled him to rebound from life’s curveballs.

J.E.’s even-tempered calmness made him approachable, and his sense of humor, evident in many of his interviews, would have drawn people to him like flies to honey. Another vital quality was his heart of service, determined to fulfill the needs of his clientele. All these indispensable aspects of J.E. Broussard are wrapped up with a gilded bow called trust—his word was his bond. The sum total of this legendary trailblazer’s character was certainly a recipe for success.

In recognition of his impeccable character as an exemplary Catholic, he was knighted in 1938 in the Order of St. Gregory the Great, civilian class, by Pope Pius XI. In the papal document that granted him this honor, J.E. was described as “an outstanding Catholic man in the Galveston diocese, a father (of nine children) influencing his family by good example, a man held in high esteem by everyone because of his benefits and favors to Catholic institutions and other Catholic activities.”

J.E.’s son, Clyde Eloi Broussard, took up the reins as President after his father’s passing in 1956 and continued in this role until his tragic death in March 1965. Clyde died when a steel tank at the mill he loved slipped from the gantry, crushing his left chest. Following this tragedy, Clyde’s brother, J.E. Broussard, Jr., stepped in to fill his brother’s shoes as President, but only for a couple of months before handing the reins to Clyde’s son, Joseph Broussard, II.

Joe II had begun his lifelong commitment to Beaumont Rice Mill, Inc. in 1945, first serving as Secretary and then Vice-President before taking on the responsibilities of President. For five decades, Joe faithfully served the mill, maintaining and nurturing the purposes set forth by its founding families. He also took his cousin, Louis Broussard, Jr., under his wing, training him in every aspect of the milling business. Upon his retirement on June 30, 1993, Joe confidently handed over the torch to Louis, proudly watching his protégé from the sidelines until his death in 2012.

Reflecting on his cousin, Louis said, “In my opinion, Joe II was the foundation of the mill moving forward.”

Louis’ brother, Ben, works alongside him as Vice-President, and together they have continued operating the family business with the same integrity and emphasis on service that defined their great-grandfather. Louis, soft-spoken and with a calm nature akin to his great-grandfather’s, remarked that it was easy when following in the footsteps of the great men who came before. He also reaffirmed the importance of establishing good relationships with the farmers and business clientele, a practice he and his brother have continued through the years.

Louis and his brother Ben, after graduating from Lamar University with business degrees, started working at the mill at the bottom of the totem pole. “I began working at the mill in 1978, starting on the rough rice side, and I really enjoyed that aspect of the mill. Then they moved me to the office in 1986, which I was not happy about,” said Louis with a touch of humor. He expressed how much he enjoyed the hands-on working side of the operation.

In a 2017 interview with reporter Dan Wallach, Louis stated that Beaumont Rice Mills has had a global reach through the years, with markets in Panama, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Haiti. The mill sold rice in Iraq before it stopped U.S. imports, and it even sent rice to Iran. Cuba was a major customer, particularly for the mill’s label, Sunset Rice, before the U.S. embargo in 1962 closed the market.

“The process of milling rice hasn’t changed much over the years except for the equipment. You take in the rough rice; it has the kernel on it, then you have to shell it, and you get brown rice. From there, it goes to the pearlers, which take the bran off of it, then to bagging and shipping,” he said, giving me the condensed version of the operation before we began our tour.

Pecos One and Two Tower Behind the Third Floor Office Building

Leaving the mill office on the third floor, Louis escorted me through a side door that exited onto the roof of the second floor. From this vantage point, I had a bird’s-eye view of all the mill facilities, as did the row of pigeons lined up on the high-line wires, still hoping to grow fat on the grain that once fell by the wayside.

Pecos One and Two, where the rough rice was delivered from the fields, towered behind the office building on the south side. The downspout that delivered the grain from the elevator on the east side to the milling side, where we stood, was clearly visible from this height.

“Rice would arrive by truck, and after the trucks were weighed to calculate the amount of grain, the rough rice would be put into the grain elevator,” Louis explained. “Part of the elevator is the original structure from 1892. We have five dryers here. Back when the industry still used a lot of bobtail trucks, we were able to drive them in and unload them at the main elevator. After about 20 years, they started delivering with bigger trucks, and we couldn’t take the weight, so everything was unloaded at our outside facility, ‘Pecos One.’ If we buy dry rice out in the marketplace, we bring it in and put it in storage. We sell milled rice, then, once we have a buyer, move it over to the mill to begin the milling process. We have two ways to get rice to the mill: we have a downspout that delivers the rough rice from the elevator to the mill, and if we are milling out of Pecos One or Pecos Two, we have a conveyor belt that moves the rice to the mill. The mill consists of four floors. When the whole rice, brokens, and brewers are milled, they’re ready to go to the clean rice bins. Once it is cleaned and sent to shipping, we either bag it in 100–110-pound bags or load it in bulk hopper cars or trucks.”

Situated between the two buildings where the milling and shipping took place lies a set of tracks where rail cars and hopper cars were once in constant motion, transporting rice. An aged tractor that Louis repaired and brought in from the family ranch to move the cars keeps a lonely vigil, once again destined for retirement.

We first entered the main elevator, seventy percent of which was part of the original structure. The elevator is where the rough rice was handled, from drying to grading. The building contained two hoppers where trucks dumped their loads of rice. Next to the hoppers were the dryers, where the rice was filtered in through a set of screens. Massive, motorized fans blew hot air to dry the moisture from the rice. Each drying bin had its own specific number. In the recording room, with walls covered by slate chalkboards divided into columns, each bin number was recorded along with the lot number of the rice, amount of 100-weight rice, the date, and the moisture content.

Located on the north end of the elevator is a grading room, essentially a small-scale milling operation. A sample of the rough rice was brought in and put through a small shelling machine. From each lot of rice, 162 pounds would be weighed in and then shelled. From there, it was put into a mini version of a milling McGill, which took the rice bran and hulls off, leaving only white rice.

The rice was then weighed again, giving the total weight of the whole, brokens, and brewers—probably about 115 pounds remaining from the original 162 pounds of rough rice. The white rice was then put into a shaker, and the whole rice would shake down into a pan and be weighed again. The finished weight of the milled whole grain would be about 100 pounds, so 162 pounds of rough rice would have yielded 100 pounds of milled whole rice, 15 pounds of brokens and brewers, and 47 pounds of bran and rice hulls.

“Once the green rice is dried, it is graded, and the grader gets the milling yield. From there, we use that information to buy the rice,” explained Louis.

Leaving the elevator, we walked across to the building where the milling process took place. Sitting on the loading platform were several forgotten 100-pound bags of rice that failed to make the final shipment. Vintage carts and hand trucks, neatly arranged in the large storage area we entered, sat forlornly empty with no work in sight. Adjacent to them was the hopper where all the rough rice came into the mill, either from Pecos One, Pecos Two, or the main elevator. From there, it was transported to the fourth floor, where it went through a scale to weigh it.

Inside the mill, multiple elevators moved rice constantly up or down. The elevator belts had cups (small buckets) evenly spaced along the belt, which would drop into the rice and scoop it up for transport to the various milling and storage locations. There were several hoppers for storing the milled rice: one for whole rice, one for brokens, and one for screenings. Vertical pearlers on the second floor polished the rice, and Louis explained that the amount of weight applied made the difference in how much polishing was done. Once polished, it was transported to the milled storage bins on the first floor to await bagging or bulk shipping.

Rice Bag Printing Machine

Our next stop was the bagging area, where the rice was bagged in either 100-pound or 110-pound bags and then conveyed out.

“Our trademark brand was the Sunset brand, and we bagged those in five, ten, or 25-pound bags,” said Louis.

Located in a back corner was the machine they used long ago to print their own bags for their Sunset brand rice. Louis mentioned that custom package printing was also done for domestic and foreign clients, adding that the printer, although idle for many years, is probably still functional.

“Over the years that I’ve been here, we have kept up with technology. My great-grandfather had a good business plan, and it stuck for 132 years. But times are changing, and with them, so are the dynamics of the rice industry. From where I sit, the biggest change is exporting the rough rice to other countries where they operate their own mills. This has really started growing in the past four or five years. Because of this, the milled rice demand is slowly deteriorating; we don’t have the demand we used to.

“For example, with the 2023 crop, they exported 1,800,000 tons of raw rice, and we haven’t even hit 600,000 tons of exported milled rice. It’s backwards. The rice producers can make more money selling it in the rough than to a rice mill. Four or five years ago, we considered building a new mill, and on paper, it paid for itself, but the long-term market outlook didn’t justify it. I believe this market is moving towards a growing rough rice export. It’s sad that we had to shut it down, but everything comes to an end.”

I’m Going to Miss This

“Our heyday was probably several years back when we shipped about 720,000 pounds—sixteen truckloads a day. Last year, the shipment was only about 600,000 as trucks and labor were hard to get. I’ve been doing it so long, I’m going to miss it, but I’m getting weary of the battle,” Louis noted sadly.

As he walked me to my car parked near Pecos One, his eyes shifted to take in the entrance to the mill. An air of melancholy settled over him as he recalled the prosperous days of the mill.

“Yeah, we used to have rough rice trucks coming in and clean rice trucks going out all day long; it was a happening place,” he whispered, leaving me with the distinct impression that he is going to miss the mill much more than he realizes—just as will all who have benefited from the iconic era of Beaumont Rice Mills and their contributions to the rice farming industry.