Crawford County, Missouri

Crawford County is a county in the east-central portion of the state of Missouri, part of the Ozarks region. It had a population of 24,696 at the 2010 census.

The county was officially organized by the Missouri legislature on January 23, 1829, and was named for William H. Crawford of Georgia, a prominent American politician of the early 19th century. Its county seat is Steelville, and Sullivan, partly located in neighboring Franklin County, is the largest city, while Cuba is the largest city entirely within the county.

History[edit]

The area that became Crawford County was originally inhabited by a variety of Indian tribes, including the Cherokee, Delaware, Shawnee, and principally the Osage nations. Some French exploration and settlement occurred during the 18th and early 19th centuries, though this left little permanent impact, apart from the names of several local creeks and other landmarks. After the organization of Missouri as a distinct territory and later a state, the region was included first within Washington County, then within Gasconade County, which at that time included much of south-central Missouri.^[1]

The first permanent white settlement appears to have been by a family named Blair, who settled along Courtois Creek in the vicinity of modern Leasburg. The population steadily rose during the 1810s and 1820s, and in 1829 the region was detached from Gasconade County and organized as Crawford County, named to honor Senator William H. Crawford of Georgia, who had been Secretary of the Treasury under the Monroe administration and a Democratic candidate for President in the 1824 election.^[2]

At its first census in 1830, the county had a population of 1,712, most of the early settlers coming from states of the Upper South, such as Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Farming was a major occupation during the first years, with the majority inhabiting the open and relatively fertile prairies in the north of the county; however, mining of such deposits as copper, iron ore, and lead became increasingly significant in the mid- and late 19th century. A number of iron works in particular flourished along the Meramec River after the Civil War, drawing waves of German and Slavic immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The construction of the Pacific Railroad in the late 1850s and 1860s, linking St. Louis with southwestern Missouri, was an additional factor in the county's growth.^[3]

Crawford County's rate of growth, in its livelihood and its population, slowed after 1900 due to the exhaustion of most of the local mines and the railroad's eventual replacement by the highway system (though the latter included U.S. Route 66, which passed through Cuba and Sullivan and provided a boost to their economies). After several decades of fluctuation, the area surged again, thanks in part to tourism to the scenic Meramec region, and its population now stands at close to 25,000.

Geography[edit]

Crawford County is located in the northeastern Ozarks, along the direct route between St. Louis and Springfield, Missouri. It is roughly rectangular in shape, except for a small extension on its southern boundary. It is bordered to the east by Washington County, to the southeast by Iron County, to the south by Dent County, to the west by Phelps County, to the northwest by Gasconade County, and to the north by Franklin County.

The county has a total area of 743.75 square miles, including 742.52 of land and 1.24 of water.^[4] It lies in a transition zone between the higher St. Francois Mountains to the southeast, and the flatter Salem Plateau to the west. Most of the higher elevations lie in the south where the terrain is more rugged, the highest peak being Hedley Knob in the southwest near the border with Dent County, at 1,380 feet above sea level. The northern part of the county is more open and low-lying, characterized in places by flat or rolling prairies. The lowest elevation is along the Meramec River in the northeast near Sullivan, at about 600 feet.^[5]

The most significant waterway is the Meramec River, which flows northeastward past the cities of Steelville and Sullivan and drains the majority of the county, including a number of tributary creeks.

The only federal highway is Interstate 44, which crosses through the north of the county and connects the cities of Cuba and Sullivan. Other major roads include Missouri State Highway 8, which passes west to east through Steelville and the central portion; State Highway 19, running north to south through Cuba and Steelville; and State Highway 49, which has its western terminus in the south and continues southeast into Iron County.

Demographics[edit]

At the 2010 census, Crawford County had a total population of 24,696, with 9,831 households and 6,712 families; this represented a significant increase from its 2000 population of 22,804. The population density was 33.2 per square mile. There were 11,955 housing units, or about 16.1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was about 97.26% White, 0.27% African-American, 0.45% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.04% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 0.51% from some other race, and 1.16% from two or more races. Hispanics of any race were 1.48% of the population.^[6]

The median age in the county was about 41 years. 24.30% of the population was under the age of 18, 7.98% was between the ages of 18 and 24, 23.29% was between the ages of 25 and 44, 28.17% was between the ages of 45 and 64, and 16.27% was 65 years old or older. The sex ratio was 49.8% male, 50.2% female.^[7]

As of 2018, the median household income in the county was $38,036, and the median family income was $49,611. Males had a median income of $38,381 versus $31,739 for females. The unemployment rate was 10.1%. The per capita income was $21,107. About 19.5% of the population was below the poverty line, including 24.1% of those under the age of 18 and 16.1% of those 65 years old or older.^[8]

Communities[edit]

Crawford County is home to seven incorporated communities, including four cities and three villages.

Cities[edit]

• Bourbon
• Cuba
• Steelville (county seat)
• Sullivan (partly in Franklin County)

Villages[edit]

• Leasburg
• St. Cloud
• West Sullivan

Government[edit]

Local government in Crawford County is provided by the elected officials. At present, all of these positions are held by members of the Republican party.^[9]

Countywide official	Name	Party
Assessor	Kellie Vestal	Republican
Circuit Clerk	Karen Harlan	Republican
County Clerk	John G. Martin	Republican
Collector	Pat Schwent	Republican
Commissioner (presiding)	Leo Sanders	Republican
Commissioner (District 1)	Rob Cummings	Republican
Commissioner (District 2)	Jared Boast	Republican
Coroner	Darren Dake	Republican
Prosecuting Attorney	David Smith	Republican
Public Administrator	Franky Todd	Republican
Recorder	Kim Cook	Republican
Sheriff	Darin Layman	Republican
Surveyor	Mark Mueller	Republican
Treasurer	Karen Sikes	Republican

At the state level, Crawford County makes up part of two legislative districts in the Missouri House of Representatives. The northwestern corner is part of the 62nd District, which also includes all of Maries County and portions of Cole, Gasconade, Miller, Osage, and Phelps Counties. It is currently represented by Bruce Sassmann (R-Bland), who was elected to his first term in November 2020, defeating Democratic candidate Nancy Ragan.

Candidate	Party	Votes	Vote Percentage
Bruce Sassmann	Republican	14,429	79.578%
Nancy J. Ragan	Democratic	3,703	20.422%

Sassmann roughly matched his overall total in Crawford County, winning 233 votes to 62 for Ragan.

The remainder of the county is part of the 120th District, which also includes part of Phelps County. It is currently represented by Jason Chipman (R-Steelville), who was re-elected to his fourth and final term in November 2020, defeating Democratic candidate Theresa Schmitt.

Candidate	Party	Votes	Vote Percentage
Jason Chipman	Republican	12,846	77.074%
Theresa Schmitt	Democratic	3,821	22.926%

Chipman roughly matched his overall total in Crawford County, winning 8,146 votes to 2,316 for Schmitt.

In the Missouri State Senate, Crawford County is part of the 16th District, which also includes Camden, Dent, Phelps, and Pulaski Counties. It is currently represented by Justin Dan Brown (R-Rolla), who was elected to his first term in November 2018, defeating Democratic candidate Ryan Dillon.

Candidate	Party	Votes	Vote Percentage
Justin Dan Brown	Republican	42,382	70.077%
Ryan Dillon	Democratic	18,097	29.923%

Brown roughly matched his overall total in Crawford County, winning 5,830 votes to 2,553 for Dillon.

At the federal level, Crawford County is part of Missouri's 8th Congressional District, which includes most of southeast and south-central Missouri. It is represented by Jason Smith (R-Salem), who won re-election in November 2020, defeating Democrat Kathy Ellis.

Candidate	Party	Votes	Vote Percentage
Jason Smith	Republican	253,811	76.86%
Kathy Ellis	Democratic	70,561	21.367%
Tom Schmitz	Libertarian	5,854	1.773%

Smith slightly overperformed his average margin in Crawford County, winning 79.498% of the vote.^[10]

Political Culture

As the above numbers indicate, Crawford County is a solidly Republican county at all levels, even more so than many other parts of the region. Since the 1880s, it has voted for the Democratic presidential candidate on only five occasions, the last being for Bill Clinton in 1996. After that time, it has never given the GOP candidate less than 57% of the vote. In 2016, Donald Trump won the county overwhelmingly with 77.86% of the vote, increasing his total to 79.51% in the 2020 election.^[11]

Like much of southern Missouri, Crawford County can be included within the Bible Belt, combining social conservatism with economic populism. In 2004, it voted overwhelmingly in favor of Constitutional Amendment 2, which recognized marriage as between a man and a woman only--the measure passed in Crawford County with 79.48% support. In 2006, while the state narrowly passed an amendment to fund embryonic stem-cell research, the county defeated the measure with 56.13% voting against. At the same time, it often supports economic measures that appear to favor the working and middle class. In the November 2006 election, the county, like the state, supported a proposed increase in the state minimum wage, with 76.78% voting in favor; in November 2018, a similar measure (which passed the state at large) received 53.34% of the vote. These results generally align with the rest of southern Missouri.

References[edit]