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History · Crawford

Crawford’s post office opened in 1870

Most of Crawford was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: maps from 1959 on and the census since 1880.

1870first post office
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Crawford began

When was Crawford founded?

1870

The Crawford post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 304 in 18802020 census: 415156 years
Founding year: the first Crawford post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).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.Boom and bustPeaked at 668 in 1990; 415 people lived here in 2020.
★ 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

010020030040050060070018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 668

Peaked at 668 in 1990; 415 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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 →

During the 1840s, a Baptist minister named Peter Crawford lived in the area. When the town was platted in 1852, it was named Crawfordsville. This name was used until 1870, when it was shortened to Crawfordville. Finally in 1879 it was changed to Crawford.

The Mobile and Ohio Railroad came though Crawfordsville in 1857. A station was listed at Crawford as early as 1874.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Crawford, 1870 to 1990

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1870Post officeThe Crawford post office opens
  3. 1892Born hereLegare Hairston is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1920Born hereSam Hairston is born here
  6. 1959On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1970Born hereClarence Weatherspoon is born here
  8. 1990CensusPopulation peaks at 668
By decade

Crawford, decade by decade

Today4 recent
The Tangerine Motel2023The Tangerine MotelBig Joe Williams Blues Trail Marker2021Big Joe Williams Blues Trail MarkerCity Hall2015City HallFEMA - 7233 - Photograph by Kevin Galvin taken on 11-25-2002 in Mississippi2002FEMA - 7233 - Photograph by Kevin Galvin taken on 11-…
On the map

Crawford on the map, 1959 to 1987

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 1959 USGS mapCrawford on the 1987 USGS map1959Artesia sheet · 1:62,500

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Crawford

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Clarence WeatherspoonAmerican basketball player · b. 1970
L
Legare HairstonAmerican football player · b. 1892
S
Sam HairstonAmerican baseball player · b. 1920

Questions about Crawford’s history

What year was Crawford founded?

The Crawford post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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 (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.