Crawford

History

The Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad reached Fort Robinson in 1886 on its way to Wyoming. Several miles east of the Fort, the railroad passed through a tree claim belonging to William Annin (also spelled "Annon"), who sold his claim for a new townsite. The "tent city" that sprang up around the railroad was named after Lt. Emmet Crawford, who had been formerly stationed at Fort Robinson but was killed in Mexico in January 1886. Crawford was incorporated in August 1886. Seeking entertainment, the soldiers kept the town supplied with much business during its early years. Crawford was a very wild frontier town, and was home to many saloons and brothels. Calamity Jane came to Crawford from Deadwood, South Dakota with ten dancing girls and set up a tent south of town. Several murders took place in Crawford, most involving soldiers from Fort Robinson. A second railroad, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, reached Crawford in 1889, providing an additional boost to the community. In 1907 Crawford became a city, and by 1911 Crawford had the seventh-most business volume in Nebraska. Through the following years, the town had a variety of industries, including a brick works, mica mill, pickle factory, and a Nash Finch Company warehouse. Crawford lobbied for a state normal school, but the state decided to place the school (now Chadron State College) in nearby Chadron. The state thought that Crawford's proximity to Fort Robinson would not be good for the school's young women students. Crawford's population peaked at 2,536 in 1910, largely because of the Kinkaid Act. It attracted many new settlers to western Nebraska who could claim public land for homesteading. But many found it impossible to successfully conduct dry-land farming on the 640-acre plots made…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. It is situated on the White River. Crawford sits 3,675 feet above sea level, and the surrounding area is rolling, with bluffs and low hills. The soils include sandy dirt and "gumbo" clay.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Western Meadowlark

  Sturnella neglecta Audubon, 1844 · Aves
  909
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  725
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  680
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  673
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  669
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  567
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  525
• Eastern Kingbird

  Tyrannus tyrannus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  498

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2024-06-16
  7 km NNE of Buffalo Gap, South Dakota
• M 2.7 — 2021-09-12
  19 km ENE of Hartville, Wyoming
• M 3.4 — 2021-03-26
  10 km E of Edgemont, South Dakota
• M 2.6 — 2021-02-27
  13 km WNW of Crawford, Nebraska
• M 2.8 — 2016-07-17
  15 km NNE of Oelrichs, South Dakota
• M 3 — 2012-01-16
  25 km E of Buffalo Gap, South Dakota