Crawford County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in Southeast Kansas. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Girard, and its most populous city is Pittsburg. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 38,972. The county was named in honor of Samuel Crawford, the third governor of Kansas. Pittsburg State University is located in Crawford County.

History

Early history

For many millennia, the

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

was inhabited by nomadic Native Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

claimed ownership of large parts of

. In 1762, after the British defeated France in the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

, France secretly ceded

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, 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 The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...

, at a cost of 2.83 cents per

acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

. In 1854, the

Kansas Territory The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Slave and ...

was organized, and in 1861

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

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 The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

counties) on the Cherokee Neutral Lands, which were originally established as a buffer zone between the Osage tribe and the State of Missouri. It is named for Samuel J. Crawford, who was the governor in office at the time.

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. According to the criminal justice scholar Ken Peak, "The ittleBalkans drove tubbsabsolutely nuts. He had his hands full and sent people down to the Balkans to clean it up". Despite this crack down, however, the governor was unable to eradicate the crime completely from the area.

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 A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

remained on the ground throughout Crawford County until it entered neighboring Barton County,

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

—traveling a total of and ending near Liberal,

. 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

, and several other states that day, including the

Kansas City metropolitan area The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

. Six deaths were reported in Kansas, and Governor Sebelius declared much of eastern and southeastern Kansas a disaster area, including Crawford County.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.9%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Bourbon County (north) * Vernon County,

(northeast) * Barton County,

(east) * Jasper County,

(southeast) * Cherokee County (south) * Labette County (southwest) * Neosho County (west)

Demographics

The Pittsburg Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Crawford County. As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 38,242 people, 15,504 households, and 9,441 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 17,221 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 93.29%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.83%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.94% Native American, 1.11% Asian, 0.09%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.11% from other races, and 1.63% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

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

household A household consists of one or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...

s, 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 Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $16,245. About 9.40% of families and 16.00% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 17.00% of those under age 18 and 10.30% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Presidential elections

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 Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

, being the only county he ever won between the urban limits of

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, Little Rock,

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

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 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, and

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

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. The county voted "No" on the 2022 Kansas abortion referendum, an anti-abortion ballot measure, by 55% to 45% despite backing

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

with 60% of the vote to

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

's 38% in the 2020 presidential election.

Education

Higher education

* Pittsburg State University is located in Pittsburg.

Unified school districts

School districts include:
Text list
/ref> * Northeast USD 246br>
- 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

counties, but also includes small portions of Labette and Neosho counties. The district serves over 450 students in grades

Pre-K Pre-kindergarten (also called pre-K or PK) is a voluntary classroom-based preschool program for children below the age of five in the United States, Canada, Turkey and Greece (when kindergarten starts). It may be delivered through a preschool ...

through 12. Southeast High School (the "Lancers") is located just west of the city of

(the district office is located in the Cherokee/McCune Township). In Crawford County the district also serves the city of McCune. The mascot is the lancer and the colors are columbia blue and white. * Girard USD 248br>
- 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 249br>
- Serves Frontenac and the Frontenac Township, including the communities of Yale, Radley, Ringo and Mindenmines, Missouri. 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. The mascot is the purple dragon and the colors are purple and white. Others with portions in the county include: * 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

List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Crawford County.

Cities

* Arcadia * Arma *

* 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 A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) by the

. * Beulah * Brazilton * Capaldo * Cato * Chicopee† * Coalvale * Croweburg† * Curranville * Dry Wood *

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

* 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.

References

;Notes

External links

;County *
Crawford County - Directory of Public Officials

Crawford County - Convention and Visitors Bureau
;Historical

;Maps * Crawford County Maps
CurrentHistoric
KDOT * Kansas Highway Maps
CurrentHistoric
KDOT * Kansas Railroad Maps
Current19961915
KDOT and Kansas Historical Society {{Authority control 1867 establishments in Kansas Kansas counties Populated places established in 1867