Crawford County, Kansas

Not to be confused with Crawford, Kansas.

Crawford County
County
Crawford County Courthouse in Girard (2012)
Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
Kansas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 37°31′N94°51′W / 37.517°N 94.850°W / 37.517; -94.850
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Founded	February 13, 1867
Named for	Samuel J. Crawford
Seat	Girard
Largest city	Pittsburg
Area
• Total	595 sq mi (1,540 km2)
• Land	590 sq mi (1,500 km2)
• Water	5.3 sq mi (14 km2)  0.9%
Population  (2020) [1]
• Total	38,972
• Estimate  (2021) [2]	39,110
• Density	66.1/sq mi (25.5/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Area code	620
Congressional district	2nd
Website	CrawfordCountyKansas.org

Crawford County is a county located in Southeast Kansas. Its county seat is Girard, ^[3] and its most populous city is Pittsburg. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 38,972. ^[1] The county was named in honor of Samuel Crawford, ^[4] the 3rd governor of Kansas. Pittsburg State University is located in Crawford County.

History

Early history

See also: History of Kansas

For many millennia, the Great Plains of North America was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the Kingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts of North America. In 1762, after the British defeated France in the French and Indian War, France secretly ceded New France to Spain, per the Treaty of Fontainebleau.

19th century

In 1802, Spain returned most of the former New France land west of the Mississippi to France, but kept title to about 7,500 square miles. In 1803, the United States acquired much of the West and most of the land for modern-day Kansas as part of the 828,000-square mile Louisiana Purchase, at a cost of 2.83 cents per acre.

In 1854, the Kansas Territory was organized, and in 1861 Kansas was admitted as the 34th U.S. state. The preceding years had been filled with violence as settlers arrived on both sides of the slavery question; the residents voting for Kansas to enter as a free state were the majority. In 1867, Crawford County was established (formed from Bourbon and Cherokee counties) on the Cherokee Neutral Lands, which were originally established as a buffer zone between the Osage tribe and the State of Missouri. ^[5] It is named for Samuel J. Crawford, who was the governor in office at the time. ^[6]

20th century

In the early 20th century, Crawford County was often referred to as the "Little Balkans", because of the many immigrants who came here from that area of Europe. They came to work in the mines, industrial work that did not require much English in the beginning. This area was the site of a number of illegal bootlegging operations, most of which were organized by immigrants in order to supplement their meager earnings as strip miners. During his term, Governor Walter R. Stubbs of Kansas made it his mission to stamp out this practice. ^{[7] [8]} According to the criminal justice scholar Ken Peak, "The [Little] Balkans drove [Stubbs] absolutely nuts. He had his hands full and sent people down to the Balkans to clean it up". ^[8] Despite this crack down, however, the governor was unable to eradicate the crime completely from the area. ^[8]

21st century

On Sunday, May 4, 2003, a violent F4 tornado touched down in western Crawford County, several miles west of Frontenac at around 4:40 p.m. The tornado remained on the ground throughout Crawford County until it entered neighboring Barton County, Missouri—traveling a total of 35 miles (56 km) and ending near Liberal, Missouri. The communities of Ringo, Franklin, and Mulberry, all in Crawford County, were devastated. The tornado cut a path of destruction roughly one quarter mile wide. Several F4 tornadoes hit Kansas, Missouri, and several other states that day, including the Kansas City metropolitan area. Six deaths were reported in Kansas, and Governor Sebelius declared much of eastern and southeastern Kansas a disaster area, including Crawford County. ^[9]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 595 square miles (1,540 km²), of which 590 square miles (1,500 km²) is land and 5.3 square miles (14 km²) (0.9%) is water. ^[10]

Adjacent counties

• Bourbon County (north)
• Vernon County, Missouri (northeast)
• Barton County, Missouri (east)
• Jasper County, Missouri (southeast)
• Cherokee County (south)
• Labette County (southwest)
• Neosho County (west)

Demographics

Population pyramid based on 2000 census age data

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1870	8,160		—
1880	16,851		106.5%
1890	30,286		79.7%
1900	38,809		28.1%
1910	51,178		31.9%
1920	61,800		20.8%
1930	49,329		−20.2%
1940	44,191		−10.4%
1950	40,231		−9.0%
1960	37,032		−8.0%
1970	37,850		2.2%
1980	37,916		0.2%
1990	35,568		−6.2%
2000	38,242		7.5%
2010	39,134		2.3%
2020	38,972		−0.4%
2023 (est.)	38,764	[11]	−0.5%
U.S. Decennial Census [12] 1790-1960 [13] 1900-1990 [14] 1990-2000 [15] 2010-2020 [1]

The Pittsburg Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Crawford County.

As of the census of 2000, there were 38,242 people, 15,504 households, and 9,441 families residing in the county. The population density was 64 people per square mile (25 people/km²). There were 17,221 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile (11/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.29% White, 1.83% Black or African American, 0.94% Native American, 1.11% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 1.11% from other races, and 1.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.38% of the population. 23.5% were of German, 12.5% American, 10.4% English, 10.2% Irish and 8.6% Italian ancestry.

There were 15,504 households, out of which 28.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.90% were married couples living together, 9.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.10% were non-families. 30.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.90% under the age of 18, 16.40% from 18 to 24, 25.00% from 25 to 44, 20.20% from 45 to 64, and 15.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 95.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,409, and the median income for a family was $40,582. Males had a median income of $27,881 versus $21,517 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,245. About 9.40% of families and 16.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.00% of those under age 18 and 10.30% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Presidential elections

Presidential election results

United States presidential election results for Crawford County, Kansas ^[16]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	9,823	61.31%	5,832	36.40%	368	2.30%
2020	10,045	60.08%	6,179	36.96%	494	2.95%
2016	8,624	57.21%	5,199	34.49%	1,251	8.30%
2012	7,708	51.25%	6,826	45.39%	506	3.36%
2008	7,735	48.12%	7,957	49.50%	383	2.38%
2004	8,626	52.19%	7,617	46.09%	284	1.72%
2000	7,160	47.63%	7,076	47.07%	798	5.31%
1996	6,447	40.60%	7,504	47.25%	1,929	12.15%
1992	5,468	32.96%	7,366	44.40%	3,757	22.64%
1988	6,940	46.73%	7,783	52.41%	127	0.86%
1984	9,518	58.10%	6,722	41.04%	141	0.86%
1980	8,058	47.81%	7,658	45.43%	1,139	6.76%
1976	7,225	43.78%	9,021	54.66%	258	1.56%
1972	9,652	58.02%	6,683	40.17%	302	1.82%
1968	7,344	45.30%	7,191	44.35%	1,678	10.35%
1964	6,286	37.77%	10,282	61.78%	76	0.46%
1960	9,383	52.78%	8,325	46.83%	69	0.39%
1956	9,578	54.93%	7,799	44.73%	60	0.34%
1952	10,646	55.81%	8,349	43.77%	79	0.41%
1948	8,229	46.19%	9,005	50.55%	581	3.26%
1944	9,017	52.09%	8,211	47.43%	83	0.48%
1940	10,143	47.68%	11,002	51.71%	130	0.61%
1936	8,596	39.73%	12,974	59.96%	66	0.31%
1932	6,884	37.41%	10,994	59.75%	523	2.84%
1928	10,992	62.31%	6,351	36.00%	299	1.69%
1924	9,063	50.34%	3,433	19.07%	5,509	30.60%
1920	7,957	54.68%	5,362	36.84%	1,234	8.48%
1916	7,067	38.12%	8,064	43.50%	3,408	18.38%
1912	2,676	25.16%	2,781	26.14%	5,180	48.70%
1908	5,152	46.55%	4,230	38.22%	1,686	15.23%
1904	5,910	58.35%	2,057	20.31%	2,162	21.34%
1900	4,722	48.66%	4,824	49.71%	158	1.63%
1896	3,868	44.40%	4,757	54.60%	87	1.00%
1892	3,064	41.89%	0	0.00%	4,250	58.11%
1888	3,156	48.46%	1,875	28.79%	1,482	22.75%

Unlike most of the counties in the Ozark-Ouachita “Bible Belt”, Crawford County remained competitive in presidential elections until the 2010s. As recently as 2008 it was carried by Barack Obama, being the only county he ever won between the urban limits of Dallas, Little Rock, Denver and Kansas City. However, like all of the region it has shown a strong anti-Democratic trend in recent years, with Hillary Clinton's 34.91% – though more than she achieved in any rural white southern county – being the worst by a Democrat since 1924. Democrat Laura Kelly did, however, win the county in her successful 2018 gubernatorial bid.

In earlier times, Crawford County was a hotbed of left-wing politics, being the nation's second best county for Eugene Debs in 1912, and one of only four where he gained a plurality of votes. It was also Robert M. La Follette’s second-best Kansas county in 1924, behind only largely Catholic Ellis County.

Only four presidential elections since have seen Crawford County not back the national winner: 1960, 1988, 2012, and 2020.

Laws

Crawford County was a prohibition, or "dry", county until the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 and voters approved the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with a 30% food sales requirement. The food sales requirement was removed with voter approval in 1992. ^[17]

The county voted "No" on the 2022 Kansas abortion referendum, an anti-abortion ballot measure, by 55% to 45% despite backing Donald Trump with 60% of the vote to Joe Biden's 38% in the 2020 presidential election. ^[18]

Education

Higher education

• Pittsburg State University is located in Pittsburg.

Unified school districts

School districts include: ^[19]

• Northeast USD 246 - Serves the northeast portion of Crawford County, namely Lincoln and Washington Townships, including the communities of Arcadia, Arma, Cockerall, Camp 50, Franklin, Mulberry and Breezy Hill. The mascot is the viking and the colors are burgundy and white.
• Southeast USD 247 (a.k.a. Cherokee USD 247) - Serves primarily portions of Crawford and Cherokee counties, but also includes small portions of Labette and Neosho counties. The 300-square-mile (780 km²) district serves over 450 students in grades Pre-K through 12. Southeast High School (the "Lancers") is located just west of the city of Cherokee (the district office is located in the Cherokee/McCune Township). In Crawford County the district also serves the city of McCune. ^[20] The mascot is the lancer and the colors are columbia blue and white.
• Girard USD 248 - Serves Girard and the Girard Township, including the communities of Farlington, Walnut, Greenbush and Hepler. The mascot is the trojan and the colors are maroon and yellow/gold.
• Frontenac USD 249 - Serves Frontenac and the Frontenac Township, including the communities of Yale, Radley, Ringo and Mindenmines, Missouri.^[ citation needed ] The mascot is the raider and the colors are black and white/silver.
• Pittsburg USD 250 - Serves Pittsburg and the Pittsburg Township, including the communities of Chicopee, Opolis, and Asbury, Missouri.^{[ citation needed ]} The mascot is the purple dragon and the colors are purple and white.

Others with portions in the county include: ^[19]

• Chetopa-St. Paul USD 505
• Erie USD 101
• Uniontown USD 235

Private schools

• Saint Mary's - Colgan (Web site) is a private Catholic K-12 school located in Pittsburg. The mascot is the panther and the colors are blue and white.

Libraries

• Pittsburg Public Library
• Girard Public Library

Communities

2005 map of Crawford County (map legend)

List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Crawford County. ^[21]

Cities

• Arcadia
• Arma
• Cherokee
• Frontenac
• Girard (county seat)
• Hepler
• McCune
• Mulberry
• Pittsburg
• Walnut

Unincorporated places

‡ means a community has portions in an adjacent county. † means a community is designated a Census-Designated Place (CDP) by the United States Census Bureau.

• Beulah
• Brazilton
• Capaldo
• Cato
• Chicopee†
• Coalvale
• Croweburg†
• Curranville
• Dry Wood
• Dunkirk
• Englevale
• Farlington†
• Fleming
• Franklin†
• Fuller
• Greenbush
• Gross
• Kirkwood
• Klondike
• Kniveton‡
• Litchfield
• Lone Oak
• Midway
• Monmouth
• Opolis†
• Polk
• Radley†
• Red Onion
• Ringo†
• South Radley
• Yale†

Townships

Crawford County is divided into nine townships. The cities of Frontenac, Girard, Mulberry, and Pittsburg are considered governmentally independent and are excluded from the census figures for the townships. In the following table, the population center is the largest city (or cities) included in that township's population total, if it is of a significant size.

Township	FIPS	Population center	Population	Population density /km2 (/sq mi)	Land area km2 (sq mi)	Water area km2 (sq mi)	Water %	Geographic coordinates
Baker	03750	Pittsburg	3,640	25 (64)	147 (57)	0 (0)	0.05%	37°22′57″N94°42′35″W / 37.38250°N 94.70972°W / 37.38250; -94.70972
Crawford	16250	Girard	883	6 (14)	159 (62)	0 (0)	0.09%	37°30′3″N94°51′13″W / 37.50083°N 94.85361°W / 37.50083; -94.85361
Grant	27575		247	2 (4)	145 (56)	1 (0)	0.45%	37°30′10″N95°1′8″W / 37.50278°N 95.01889°W / 37.50278; -95.01889
Lincoln	40575	Arcadia	942	5 (13)	181 (70)	0 (0)	0.23%	37°37′21″N94°39′31″W / 37.62250°N 94.65861°W / 37.62250; -94.65861
Osage	53125	McCune	756	5 (14)	141 (54)	1 (0)	0.44%	37°22′46″N95°1′21″W / 37.37944°N 95.02250°W / 37.37944; -95.02250
Sheridan	64675	Cherokee	1,501	7 (19)	206 (80)	1 (0)	0.31%	37°22′32″N94°51′33″W / 37.37556°N 94.85917°W / 37.37556; -94.85917
Sherman	64875	Farlington	520	3 (7)	187 (72)	1 (0)	0.45%	37°37′24″N94°51′35″W / 37.62333°N 94.85972°W / 37.62333; -94.85972
Walnut	74975	Walnut	624	4 (10)	166 (64)	0 (0)	0.27%	37°36′15″N95°1′38″W / 37.60417°N 95.02722°W / 37.60417; -95.02722
Washington	75575	Frontenac	3,540	23 (59)	154 (60)	1 (1)	0.96%	37°31′7″N94°41′44″W / 37.51861°N 94.69556°W / 37.51861; -94.69556
Sources: "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files". U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division. Archived from the original on August 2, 2002.

See also

• Kansas portal

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Crawford County, Kansas

Community information for Kansas

• Kansas locations by per capita income
• List of counties in Kansas
• List of townships in Kansas
• List of cities in Kansas
• List of unincorporated communities in Kansas
• List of ghost towns in Kansas

References

1. "QuickFacts; Crawford County, Kansas; Population, Census, 2020 & 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 16, 2021. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
2. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2021" . Retrieved October 23, 2022.
3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
4. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp.  95.
5. "Soldier vs. Settler - Fort Scott National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
6. Blackmar, Frank Wilson (1912). Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc. Standard Publishing Company. pp.  471.
7. Connelley, William (1918). "Walter Roscoe Stubbs". A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans. Archived from the original on June 13, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
8. "Booze Brothers". Lawrence Journal-World . May 1, 2006. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
9. "5 years later". The Morning Sun. May 4, 2008. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
10. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
11. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
12. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
13. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
14. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
15. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
16. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
17. "Map of Wet and Dry Counties". Alcoholic Beverage Control, Kansas Department of Revenue. November 2006. Archived from the original on October 8, 2007. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
18. Panetta, Grace (August 3, 2022). "14 of the 19 Kansas counties that rejected an anti-abortion amendment voted for Trump in 2020". Business Insider. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
19. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Crawford County, KS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved November 21, 2024. - Text list
20. Burns, Tim (September 19, 2005). "Welcome To USD #247". Cherokee, USD 247. Archived from the original on August 10, 2007. Retrieved January 23, 2007.
21. "General Highway Map of Crawford County, Kansas" (PDF). Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). August 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 1, 2023.

Notes

Further reading

See also: List of books about Kansas, including historical information about its counties and cities

• A Twentieth century history and biographical record of Crawford County, Kansas; Home Authors; Lewis Publishing Co; 656 pages; 1905.
• Plat Book of Crawford County, Kansas; North West Publishing Co; 54 pages; 1906.

External links

County

• Crawford County - Official
• Crawford County - Directory of Public Officials
• Crawford County - Convention and Visitors Bureau

Historical

• Crawford Co. Kansas History and Heritage - Genealogy

Maps

• Crawford County Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
• Kansas Highway Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
• Kansas Railroad Maps: Current, 1996, 1915, KDOT and Kansas Historical Society