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History · Crawford

Crawford dates to 1882, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1965 on and the census since 1920.

1882founded
0on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 3.0
Quick answers

How Crawford began

When was Crawford founded?

1882

Crawford dates its founding to 1882 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 149 in 19202020 census: 403144 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1883.The full story ↓

What stands out about Crawford’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Crawford are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1940 and 1960, then more than doubled.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Crawford’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Crawford’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Crawford, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020221 in 1940Low: 147

Lost a third of its people between 1940 and 1960, then more than doubled.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Crawford’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Crawford came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Crawford.

Read it all →

Crawford was founded in 1882. The town was named for George A. Crawford, governor-elect of Kansas and a founder of Grand Junction, Colorado. The Crawford, Colorado, post office opened on April 14, 1883.

For 40 years during the second weekend in June, Crawford Country holds a town festival called Pioneer Days, starting with a parade and ending with a fireworks display over the reservoir at Crawford State Park.

ChaptersPioneer Days

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Crawford, 1882 to 2010

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1882
    FoundingCrawford is established
  3. 1883Post officeThe Crawford post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 21st century
  7. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 431
By decade

Crawford, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Smith Fork2016Smith ForkNeedle Rock Natural Area2016Needle Rock Natural AreaDonald Trump Sign2016Donald Trump SignCrawford, Colorado2016Crawford, ColoradoCrawford Colorado and Youngs Peak2014Crawford Colorado and Youngs PeakCOMap-doton-Crawford2005COMap-doton-Crawford
On the map

Crawford on the map, 1965 to 2001

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Crawford. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Crawford on the 1965 USGS mapCrawford on the 1979 USGS mapCrawford on the 2001 USGS map1965Crawford sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Crawford.

Questions about Crawford’s history

What year was Crawford founded?

In 1882, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Crawford’s post office opened in 1883, and the census of 1920 counted 149 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.