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Crawford County
Crawford County
County
	Crawford County Courthouse within the Van Buren Historic District
	Location within the U.S. state of Arkansas
	Arkansas's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 35°34′00″N 94°15′00″W / 35.566666666667°N 94.25°W
Country	United States
State	Arkansas
Named for	William H. Crawford
Seat	Van Buren
Largest city	Van Buren
Area
• Total	604 sq mi (1,560 km2)
• Land	593 sq mi (1,540 km2)
• Water	11 sq mi (30 km2) 1.8%
Population (2020)
• Total	60,133
• Density	100/sq mi (38/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	3rd
Website	www.crawford-county.org

Crawford County is a county located in the Ozarks region of the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,133.^[1] The county seat and largest city is Van Buren.^[2] Crawford County was formed on October 18, 1820, from the former Lovely County and Indian Territory, and was named for William H. Crawford, the United States Secretary of War in 1815.^[3]

Located largely within the Ozarks, the southern border of the county is the Arkansas River, placing the extreme southern edge of the county in the Arkansas River Valley. The frontier county became an early crossroads, beginning with a California Gold Rush and developing into the Butterfield Overland Mail, Civil War trails and railroads such as the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway, the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad, and the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway. Today the county is home to the intersection of two major interstate highways, Interstate 40 (I-40) and I-49. Crawford County is part of the Fort Smith metropolitan area. As a dry county, alcohol sales are generally prohibited, though recent changes to county law provide for exemptions.

Geography

Crawford County is located in the northwest region of Arkansas. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 604 square miles (1,560 km²), of which 593 square miles (1,540 km²) is land and 11 square miles (28 km²) (1.8%) is water.^[4]

Major highways

Crawford County is included in an area designated for a planned extension of I-49 into Arkansas. The final project will connect New Orleans, Louisiana, to Kansas City, Missouri, a large trucking corridor which is currently not served by an Interstate highway. The proposed highway would utilize portions of I-49 which currently runs north from Van Buren toward the Missouri state line passing through Benton County, home of Walmart. The corridor was listed as the number-one high-priority corridor by transportation officials in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act.

Transit

Jefferson Lines

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Ozark National Forest (part)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1830	2,440		—
1840	4,266		74.8%
1850	7,960		86.6%
1860	7,850		−1.4%
1870	8,957		14.1%
1880	14,740		64.6%
1890	21,714		47.3%
1900	21,270		−2.0%
1910	23,942		12.6%
1920	25,739		7.5%
1930	22,549		−12.4%
1940	23,920		6.1%
1950	22,727		−5.0%
1960	21,318		−6.2%
1970	25,677		20.4%
1980	36,892		43.7%
1990	42,493		15.2%
2000	53,247		25.3%
2010	61,948		16.3%
2020	60,133		−2.9%
2023 (est.)	61,891	^[5]	2.9%
U.S. Decennial Census^[6] 1790–1960^[7] 1900–1990^[8] 1990–2000^[9] 2010^[10]

2020 census

Crawford County racial composition^[11]
Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	47,627	79.2%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	857	1.43%
Native American	1,366	2.27%
Asian	939	1.56%
Pacific Islander	27	0.04%
Other/Mixed	4,750	7.9%
Hispanic or Latino	4,567	7.59%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 60,133 people, 23,958 households, and 17,082 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census,^[12] there were 53,247 people, 19,702 households, and 15,150 families residing in the county. The population density was 35/km² (91/sq mi). There were 21,315 housing units at an average density of 14/km² (36/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 92.19% White, 0.87% Black or African American, 2.01% Native American, 1.19% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.48% from other races, and 2.24% from two or more races. 3.27% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 19,702 households, out of which 37.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.20% were married couples living together, 10.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.10% were non-families. 20.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.20% under the age of 18, 8.40% from 18 to 24, 29.30% from 25 to 44, 22.80% from 45 to 64, and 11.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,871, and the median income for a family was $36,741. Males had a median income of $29,581 versus $20,352 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,015. About 10.90% of families and 14.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.30% of those under age 18 and 13.70% of those age 65 or over.

Controversy

Thousands of self-claimed "Western Band of Cherokee" (or Arkansas Cherokees) fought for state and federal recognition as a political entity of Native Americans. Crawford County (specifically, that area known as "Lovely's Purchase") was historically part of the Cherokee Nation, which lost its tribal sovereignty status as a result of the U.S. Civil War in the 1860s. The Cherokee Nation was subsequently relocated to the west in the present-day state of Oklahoma. ^{[citation needed]}

The violent arrest of Randal Worcester by two Crawford County sheriff's deputies and one Mulberry police officer took place in Mulberry, Crawford County, in August 2022.^[13]

Government

Crawford County is a longtime Republican stronghold, so much so that not even former governor and native Arkansan Bill Clinton was able to carry it in either of his presidential victories. The last Democrat (as of 2024) to carry this county was Jimmy Carter in 1976.

United States presidential election results for Crawford County, Arkansas^[14]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	18,615	78.10%	4,753	19.94%	466	1.96%
2020	18,607	77.24%	4,959	20.58%	525	2.18%
2016	16,686	74.33%	4,488	19.99%	1,276	5.68%
2012	15,145	73.55%	4,881	23.70%	565	2.74%
2008	14,688	71.54%	5,238	25.51%	606	2.95%
2004	13,391	65.64%	6,764	33.16%	246	1.21%
2000	10,804	61.30%	6,288	35.68%	533	3.02%
1996	7,182	45.42%	6,749	42.68%	1,883	11.91%
1992	6,882	42.57%	6,656	41.18%	2,627	16.25%
1988	9,092	70.85%	3,582	27.91%	158	1.23%
1984	9,551	75.20%	3,071	24.18%	79	0.62%
1980	8,542	66.22%	3,948	30.61%	409	3.17%
1976	4,764	44.48%	5,946	55.52%	0	0.00%
1972	6,974	81.41%	1,520	17.74%	72	0.84%
1968	2,723	37.73%	1,578	21.86%	2,917	40.41%
1964	3,294	48.07%	3,537	51.62%	21	0.31%
1960	3,373	57.10%	2,430	41.14%	104	1.76%
1956	3,090	52.88%	2,723	46.60%	30	0.51%
1952	2,782	52.80%	2,477	47.01%	10	0.19%
1948	1,002	33.94%	1,730	58.60%	220	7.45%
1944	1,141	39.87%	1,702	59.47%	19	0.66%
1940	691	29.81%	1,581	68.21%	46	1.98%
1936	697	26.09%	1,963	73.47%	12	0.45%
1932	809	21.16%	2,962	77.46%	53	1.39%
1928	1,559	47.21%	1,743	52.79%	0	0.00%
1924	996	34.23%	1,445	49.66%	469	16.12%
1920	1,497	44.06%	1,861	54.77%	40	1.18%
1916	1,195	42.42%	1,622	57.58%	0	0.00%
1912	407	21.65%	969	51.54%	504	26.81%
1908	1,339	43.49%	1,661	53.95%	79	2.57%
1904	941	49.97%	875	46.47%	67	3.56%
1900	1,060	41.78%	1,449	57.11%	28	1.10%
1896	1,311	40.98%	1,870	58.46%	18	0.56%

Communities

Cities

Towns

Chester
Rudy

Unincorporated community

Townships

Townships in Arkansas are the divisions of a county. Each township includes unincorporated areas; some may have incorporated cities or towns within part of their boundaries. Arkansas townships have limited purposes in modern times. However, the United States census does list Arkansas population based on townships (sometimes referred to as "county subdivisions" or "minor civil divisions"). Townships are also of value for historical purposes in terms of genealogical research. Each town or city is within one or more townships in an Arkansas county based on census maps and publications. The townships of Crawford County are listed below; listed in parentheses are the cities, towns, and/or census-designated places that are fully or partially inside the township. ^[15]^[16]