Crawford County, Kansas | |
|---|---|
 Crawford County Courthouse inGirard (2012) | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofKansas | |
 Kansas's location within theU.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 after | 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 | |
• Total | 38,972 |
• Estimate (2023) | 38,764 |
| • Density | 66/sq mi (26/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Area code | 620 |
| Congressional district | 2nd |
| Website | CrawfordCountyKansas.org |
Crawford County is acounty located inSoutheast Kansas. Itscounty seat isGirard,[2] and its most populous city isPittsburg. As of the2020 census, the county population was 38,972.[1] The county was named in honor ofSamuel Crawford,[3] the third governor of Kansas.Pittsburg State University is located in Crawford County.
For manymillennia, theGreat Plains ofNorth America was inhabited bynomadicNative Americans. From the 16th century to 18th century, theKingdom of France claimed ownership of large parts ofNorth America. In 1762, after the British defeated France in theFrench and Indian War, France secretly cededNew France toSpain, per theTreaty of Fontainebleau.
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 formodern-day Kansas as part of the 828,000-square mileLouisiana Purchase, at a cost of 2.83cents peracre.
In 1854, theKansas Territory was organized, and in 1861Kansas was admitted as the 34thU.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 fromBourbon andCherokee counties) on the Cherokee Neutral Lands, which were originally established as a buffer zone between the Osage tribe and the State of Missouri.[4] It is named forSamuel J. Crawford, who was the governor in office at the time.[5]
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, GovernorWalter R. Stubbs of Kansas made it his mission to stamp out this practice.[6][7] 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".[7] Despite this crack down, however, the governor was unable to eradicate the crime completely from the area.[7]
On Sunday,May 4, 2003, a violentF4 tornado touched down in western Crawford County, several miles west ofFrontenac at around 4:40 p.m. Thetornado remained on the ground throughout Crawford County until it entered neighboringBarton County,Missouri—traveling a total of 35 miles (56 km) and ending nearLiberal,Missouri. The communities of Ringo, Franklin, andMulberry, all in Crawford County, were devastated. The tornado cut a path of destruction roughly one quarter mile wide. Several F4 tornadoes hitKansas,Missouri, and several other states that day, including theKansas City metropolitan area. Six deaths were reported in Kansas, andGovernor Sebelius declared much of eastern and southeastern Kansas a disaster area, including Crawford County.[8]
According to theUnited 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.[9]
| 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 | [10] | −0.5% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[11] 1790-1960[12] 1900-1990[13] 1990-2000[14] 2010-2020[1] | |||
The PittsburgMicropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Crawford County.
As of thecensus of 2000, there were 38,242 people, 15,504 households, and 9,441 families residing in the county. Thepopulation 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). Theracial makeup of the county was 93.29%White, 1.83%Black orAfrican American, 0.94%Native American, 1.11%Asian, 0.09%Pacific Islander, 1.11% from other races, and 1.63% fromtwo or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 2.38% of the population. 23.5% were ofGerman, 12.5%American, 10.4%English, 10.2%Irish and 8.6%Italian ancestry.
There were 15,504households, out of which 28.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.90% weremarried 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.
Themedian 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. Theper capita income for the county was $16,245. About 9.40% of families and 16.00% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 17.00% of those under age 18 and 10.30% of those age 65 or over.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1888 | 3,156 | 48.46% | 1,875 | 28.79% | 1,482 | 22.75% |
| 1892 | 3,064 | 41.89% | 0 | 0.00% | 4,250 | 58.11% |
| 1896 | 3,868 | 44.40% | 4,757 | 54.60% | 87 | 1.00% |
| 1900 | 4,722 | 48.66% | 4,824 | 49.71% | 158 | 1.63% |
| 1904 | 5,910 | 58.35% | 2,057 | 20.31% | 2,162 | 21.34% |
| 1908 | 5,152 | 46.55% | 4,230 | 38.22% | 1,686 | 15.23% |
| 1912 | 2,676 | 25.16% | 2,781 | 26.14% | 5,180 | 48.70% |
| 1916 | 7,067 | 38.12% | 8,064 | 43.50% | 3,408 | 18.38% |
| 1920 | 7,957 | 54.68% | 5,362 | 36.84% | 1,234 | 8.48% |
| 1924 | 9,063 | 50.34% | 3,433 | 19.07% | 5,509 | 30.60% |
| 1928 | 10,992 | 62.31% | 6,351 | 36.00% | 299 | 1.69% |
| 1932 | 6,884 | 37.41% | 10,994 | 59.75% | 523 | 2.84% |
| 1936 | 8,596 | 39.73% | 12,974 | 59.96% | 66 | 0.31% |
| 1940 | 10,143 | 47.68% | 11,002 | 51.71% | 130 | 0.61% |
| 1944 | 9,017 | 52.09% | 8,211 | 47.43% | 83 | 0.48% |
| 1948 | 8,229 | 46.19% | 9,005 | 50.55% | 581 | 3.26% |
| 1952 | 10,646 | 55.81% | 8,349 | 43.77% | 79 | 0.41% |
| 1956 | 9,578 | 54.93% | 7,799 | 44.73% | 60 | 0.34% |
| 1960 | 9,383 | 52.78% | 8,325 | 46.83% | 69 | 0.39% |
| 1964 | 6,286 | 37.77% | 10,282 | 61.78% | 76 | 0.46% |
| 1968 | 7,344 | 45.30% | 7,191 | 44.35% | 1,678 | 10.35% |
| 1972 | 9,652 | 58.02% | 6,683 | 40.17% | 302 | 1.82% |
| 1976 | 7,225 | 43.78% | 9,021 | 54.66% | 258 | 1.56% |
| 1980 | 8,058 | 47.81% | 7,658 | 45.43% | 1,139 | 6.76% |
| 1984 | 9,518 | 58.10% | 6,722 | 41.04% | 141 | 0.86% |
| 1988 | 6,940 | 46.73% | 7,783 | 52.41% | 127 | 0.86% |
| 1992 | 5,468 | 32.96% | 7,366 | 44.40% | 3,757 | 22.64% |
| 1996 | 6,447 | 40.60% | 7,504 | 47.25% | 1,929 | 12.15% |
| 2000 | 7,160 | 47.63% | 7,076 | 47.07% | 798 | 5.31% |
| 2004 | 8,626 | 52.19% | 7,617 | 46.09% | 284 | 1.72% |
| 2008 | 7,735 | 48.12% | 7,957 | 49.50% | 383 | 2.38% |
| 2012 | 7,708 | 51.25% | 6,826 | 45.39% | 506 | 3.36% |
| 2016 | 8,624 | 57.21% | 5,199 | 34.49% | 1,251 | 8.30% |
| 2020 | 10,045 | 60.08% | 6,179 | 36.96% | 494 | 2.95% |
| 2024 | 10,084 | 61.42% | 5,956 | 36.28% | 377 | 2.30% |
Unlike most of the counties in theOzark-Ouachita “Bible Belt”, Crawford County remained competitive in presidential elections until the 2010s. As recently as2008 it was carried byBarack Obama, being the only county he ever won between the urban limits ofDallas,Little Rock,Denver andKansas 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 since1924. DemocratLaura Kelly did, however, win the county in her successful2018 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 alsoRobert M. La Follette’s second-best Kansas county in 1924, behind only largely CatholicEllis County.
Only four presidential elections since have seen Crawford County not back the national winner:1960,1988,2012, and2020.
Crawford County was a prohibition, or"dry", county until theKansas 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.[16]
The county voted "No" on the2022 Kansas abortion referendum, an anti-abortion ballot measure, by 55% to 45% despite backingDonald Trump with 60% of the vote toJoe Biden's 38% in the2020 presidential election.[17]
School districts include:[18]
Others with portions in the county include:[18]
List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Crawford County.[20]
‡ means a community has portions in an adjacent county.† means a community is designated aCensus-Designated Place (CDP) by theUnited States Census Bureau.
Crawford County is divided into ninetownships. The cities ofFrontenac,Girard,Mulberry, andPittsburg are consideredgovernmentally 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.
Places adjacent to Crawford County, Kansas | |
|---|---|
Municipalities and communities ofCrawford County, Kansas,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| CDPs | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Townships | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This community also has portions in an adjacent county or counties. | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
