Crawford County, Kansas

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Crawford County, Kansas
Location in the state of Kansas
Kansas's location in the U.S.
Founded	February 13, 1867
Seat	Girard
Largest city	Pittsburg
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	595.05 sq mi (1,541 km²) 592.91 sq mi (1,536 km²) 2.14 sq mi (6 km²), 0.36%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	39,134 64.2/sq mi (24.8/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	CrawfordCountyKansas.org

Crawford County (county code CR) is a county located in Southeast Kansas in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 39,134. Its county seat is Girard, and its most populous city is Pittsburg. The county was named in honor of Samuel J. Crawford, Governor of Kansas. The Pittsburg Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Crawford County.

Located in the Ozark Highlands, it lies halfway between Kansas City, Missouri and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Crawford County, and much of southeast Kansas, was founded on coal mining, the Pittsburg-Weir Coalfield being located here, and is still known for mining today. Pittsburg State University is located in Crawford County.

History

On Sunday, May 4, 2003, a strong and 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 towns 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 and F5 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.

Law and government

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.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 595.05 square miles (1,541.2 km²), of which 592.91 square miles (1,535.6 km²) (or 99.64%) is land and 2.14 square miles (5.5 km²) (or 0.36%) is water.

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

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
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%
U.S. Decennial Census

Population pyramid

2005 KDOT Map of Crawford County (map legend)

As of the U.S. Census in 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/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 according to Census 2000.

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.

Cities and towns

Incorporated cities

Name and population:

• Pittsburg, 20,233
• Frontenac, 3,437
• Girard, 2,789
• Arma, 1,481
• Cherokee, 711
• Mulberry, 520
• McCune, 405
• Arcadia, 330
• Walnut, 220
• Hepler, 132

Unincorporated places

• Beulah
• Brazilton
• Camp 50
• Capaldo
• Chicopee
• Cornell
• Croweburg
• Curranville
• Dunkirk
• Englevale
• Farlington
• Foxtown
• Franklin
• Greenbush
• Gross
• Kirkwood
• Klondike
• Monmouth
• Opolis
• Radley
• 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″N 94°42′35″W
Crawford	16250	Girard	883	6 (14)	159 (62)	0 (0)	0.09%	37°30′3″N 94°51′13″W
Grant	27575	No center city	247	2 (4)	145 (56)	1 (0)	0.45%	37°30′10″N 95°1′8″W
Lincoln	40575	Arcadia	942	5 (13)	181 (70)	0 (0)	0.23%	37°37′21″N 94°39′31″W
Osage	53125	McCune	756	5 (14)	141 (54)	1 (0)	0.44%	37°22′46″N 95°1′21″W
Sheridan	64675	Cherokee	1,501	7 (19)	206 (80)	1 (0)	0.31%	37°22′32″N 94°51′33″W
Sherman	64875	Farlington	520	3 (7)	187 (72)	1 (0)	0.45%	37°37′24″N 94°51′35″W
Walnut	74975	Walnut	624	4 (10)	166 (64)	0 (0)	0.27%	37°36′15″N 95°1′38″W
Washington	75575	Frontenac	3,540	23 (59)	154 (60)	1 (1)	0.96%	37°31′7″N 94°41′44″W
Sources: "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files". U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/places2k.html.

Education

Unified school districts

• Northeast USD 246 (Web site) - Serves the northeast portion of Crawford County, namely Lincoln and Washington Townships, including the towns of Arcadia, Arma, Cockerall, Camp 50, Franklin, Mulberry and Breezy Hill. Mascot - Vikings Colors - Burgundy and White
• Southeast USD 247 (Web site) - 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 800 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. Mascot - Lancers Colors - Columbia Blue and White
• Girard USD 248 (Web Site) - Serves Girard and the Girard Township, including the towns of Farlington, Walnut, Greenbush and Hepler. Mascot - Trojans Colors - Maroon and Yellow/Gold
• Frontenac USD 249 (Web site) - Serves Frontenac and the Frontenac Township, including the towns of Yale, Radley, Ringo and Mindenmines, Missouri. Mascot - Raiders Colors - Black and White/Silver
• Pittsburg USD 250 (Web site) - Serves Pittsburg and the Pittsburg Township, including the towns of Chicopee, Opolis, and Asbury, Missouri. Mascot - Purple Dragons Colors - Purple and White

Private schools

• Saint Mary's - Colgan (Web site) is a private Catholic K-12 school located in Pittsburg. Mascot - Panthers Colors - Blue and White

Higher education

• Pittsburg State University is located in Pittsburg.

Libraries

• Pittsburg Public Library
• Girard Public Library

See also

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

Information on this and other counties in Kansas

• List of counties in Kansas
• List of Kansas county name etymologies
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Kansas
• Kansas locations by per capita income

Other information for Kansas

• List of cities in Kansas
• List of unified school districts in Kansas
• List of colleges and universities in Kansas

Further reading

• History of the State of Kansas; William G. Cutler; A.T. Andreas Publisher; 1883. (Online HTML eBook)
• Kansas : A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc; 3 Volumes; Frank W. Blackmar; Standard Publishing Co; 944 / 955 / 824 pages; 1912. (Volume1 - Download 54MB PDF eBook), (Volume2 - Download 53MB PDF eBook), (Volume3 - Download 33MB PDF eBook)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Crawford County, Kansas

Official sites

• Crawford County

Additional information

• Blue Skyways
• Crawford Co. Kansas History and Heritage - Genealogy
• Kansas Statistical Abstract

Maps

• Crawford County Map, KDOT
• Kansas Highway Map, KDOT
• Kansas Railroad Map, KDOT
• Marion County School District Boundary Map, U.S. Census Bureau