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History · Crawford

Crawford’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Crawford. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
6recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead 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.

Pioneer Days

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Be one of the first

Start Crawford’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Crawford

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Scott PoteetScott PoteetMilitary
By decade

Crawford, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
Today6 photos
Smith ForkCommonsSmith Fork2016Needle Rock Natural AreaCommonsNeedle Rock Natural Area2016Donald Trump SignCommonsDonald Trump Sign2016Crawford, ColoradoCommonsCrawford, Colorado2016Crawford Colorado and Youngs PeakCommonsCrawford Colorado and Youngs Peak2014COMap-doton-CrawfordCommonsCOMap-doton-Crawford2005
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Crawford is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Crawford has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Hotchkiss Hotel in Hotchkiss, 8.8 miles away.

Crawford and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Crawford. Tap a dot.
Hotchkiss HotelHotchkiss Methodist Episcopal ChurchHotchkiss HomesteadNorth Rim Road, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National ParkMathews HouseCurtis Hardware Store

Closest to Crawford

Hotchkiss HotelHotchkiss · Built 18968.8miHotchkiss Methodist Episcopal ChurchHotchkiss · Building8.8miHotchkiss HomesteadHotchkiss · District9.1miNorth Rim Road, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National ParkCrawford · District10.1miMathews HousePaonia · Building11.1mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Hotchkiss Hotel’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Crawford?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Crawford’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Hotchkiss📜 Paonia📜 Orchard City📜 Montrose

From Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

The coffee’s on

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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