Crawford County, Arkansas Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Crawford County
U.S. 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.
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 (2010)
• Total	61,948
• Estimate (2019)	63,257
• Density	102.56/sq mi (39.60/km²)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	3rd, 4th

Crawford County is a county located in the Ozarks region of the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 61,948, making it the 12th-most populous of Arkansas's 75 counties. The county seat and largest city is Van Buren. 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.

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
Demographics
- 2020 census
Communities
See also

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.

Major highways

Interstate 40
Interstate 49
Interstate 540
US 64
US 71
Highway 59
Highway 60
Highway 162
Highway 282
Highway 348

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.

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Ozark National Forest (part)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
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%
2019 (est.)	63,257	2.1%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010–2016

2020 census

Crawford County racial composition
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.

Communities

Cities

Towns

Chester
Rudy Rudy USA small town situated along the Arkansas Missouri Railroad and the beautiful Frogg Bayau, a stream that flows an emerald green color most of the time. The Frog was named by an early explorer named Frooge. The area around Rudy was once known as a center for peach and apple production. With the influx of cedar trees, which blight peach and apple trees, production has changed to chicken and turkey farms as well as Gmao production of beef and sheep. The Rudy Store has revived as a merchant offering country breakfasts and hearty lunches,

Unincorporated community

Dora

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.

Alma (most of Alma)
Bidville
Cedar Creek
Cedarville (Cedarville)
Chester (Chester, small part of Mountainburg)
Cove City
Dean Springs (small part of Alma)
Dora (part of Van Buren)
Dyer (Dyer, small part of Alma)
Jasper
Kibler (most of Kibler)
Lancaster
Lees Creek
Locke
Mountainburg (most of Mountainburg)
Mulberry (most of Mulberry)
Oliver Springs
Porter
Rudy (Rudy, very small part of Alma)
Uniontown
Upper
Van Buren (most of Van Buren, part of Kibler)
Vine Prairie (part of Mulberry)
Whitley
Winfrey

Crawford County, Arkansas facts for kids

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