Crawford County, Kansas by L.H. Everts & Co., 1887.
Crawfordsville, Kansas, is a lost town in Crawford County. Located on the banks of Lightning Creek, two miles west and a half mile north of present-day Girard, it was named after Governor Samuel J. Crawford.
Crawford County was organized on February 13, 1867, and the first meeting of the newly appointed commissioners of the county was held March 16, 1867, at the residence of William Campbell adjoining Crawfordsville. At that meeting, the county was divided into nine townships, and an order was given for a special election to be held on April 15 to choose a location for a county seat. Three locations were considered, including Crawfordsville, Center, which was at the present southeast corner of St. John Street and Western Avenue, in Girard, and Rossville, two miles northeast of Girard on what was then the Silket farm.
Crawfordsville won the election and was established as the county seat. At that time, there were just a few cabins in the area.
The town grew impressively at first, boasting a blacksmith shop, a schoolhouse, and a courthouse was soon erected.
In August 1867, the Fort Scott Weekly Monitor stated:
“The town of Crawfordville is now a fixed fact. There have been two buildings erected on the town site in the last week; another under contract 22 by 28 feet, two stories high, to be commenced immediately for school purposes and to hold courts in. Many others are in contemplation, which will be built as soon as material can be obtained. There will be a saw mill put up this fall. A grocery and dry goods store would do a good business, as there is nothing of that kind in this section of the country; also, a drug store is needed, as there is no chance of getting anything in the line of medicine short of Fort Scott.”
A post office was established on October 18, 1867.
By that time, there had become a power struggle between Crawfordsville and the newly organized Girard Town Company, who thought Girard was more suited to be the county seat because of its central location and it being a stop for the Kansas City, Fort Scott, & Gulf Railroad. Another county seat election was held on November 5, 1867, and Girard was declared the winner. However, the election was declared a fraud because the county’s residents had not collected a petition calling for another election to settle the matter.
A year later, on November 7, 1868, a petition with the signatures of 577 county residents was presented to the district court of Dr. D.W. Crouse. An official vote was taken on December 15, 1868, and with 375 votes for Girard and 312 votes for Crawfordsville, Girard won the contest to become the new county seat. Soon, the county records were transported to Girard.
In March 1869, John T. Voss, an attorney living and practicing at Crawfordsville, sued the county commissioners, declaring that Crawfordsville had been the county seat since the county was organized. He claimed that the election had been illegal, but his efforts were in vain. From that time, Crawfordsville declined.
At its peak, Crawfordville had about a dozen buildings. A store was run by Peter Smith of Cato and another by Percy Daniels and his brother-in-law, William Eddy. There was a schoolhouse, a courthouse, a doctor’s office, and a few dwellings.
An ad in the Girard Press of July 1870 advertised:
“Bargain – Good frame house 26′ x 30′ now used as a hotel and a lot in Crawfordsville, also 40 acres of land adjoining at $5 per acre. The whole lot for $800.”
Lightning Creek Near Girard, Kansas.
Crawfordville’s post office closed on December 8, 1873.
By 1874, only two buildings were left: the blacksmith shop and the building that housed the general store and post office. A farmer was using the latter to shelter his calves. Afterward, the townsite was plowed up and planted with wheat.
There is nothing left today to indicate the site of Crawfordsville.
© Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, updated April 2025.
Also See:
Extinct Towns in Crawford County
Sources:
Cuthbertson, William C.; The Genesis of Girard, Friends of Historic Girard, January 1984.
Kansas GenWeb
Pittsburg Memories