Crawford

Formed December 31, 1816 (11^th county)

Crawford County (18,672), Robinson (7,149)                

The red brick Romanesque building was built in 1895 and remodeled in 1949.  The original courthouse was much classier.  It sits in a square surrounded by Court, Douglas, Walnut, and Main streets.  Main Street is Illinois State Highway 33 in the town.  J. W. Gaddis is the building designer.  The grounds feature a canon and veteran memorials.  The courthouse has a working clock.  The Wabash River forms its eastern border with Indiana.  The county was formed on December 31, 1816 out of Edwards County as the 11^th county.  The Cullom Home served as the original county seat until 1818 when Palestine took over until 1843 when Robinson became the seat.  The county is named for United States Secretary of War, William H. Crawford.  The county seat is presumably named for a settler.  The county is rectangular except for its eastern river border. 

Crawford County government consists of a sheriff, an attorney, a coroner, a clerk, a treasurer, and an assessor (executive).  It has 10 Board Members (legislative.)  Twenty-one Circuit Court Judges serve Crawford, Edwards, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jefferson, Lawrence, Richland, Wabash, Wayne, and White counties and a court clerk serves Crawford County (judicial.)  The county is in the southeast part of Illinois.  Evansville, Indiana is southeast and Terre Haute, Indiana is northeast of the county.  The county center is 4.9 miles Northwest of Robinson.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Clark County and Indiana and Lawrence, Richland, and Jasper counties. 

The area of the county is 443 square miles.  It is 61 out of 102 in the state.  It ranks 59 out of 102 in population in the state.  It has a density of 42.1 persons per square mile making it 56 out of 102 in the state.  Crawford County has 57.1% of its population in its incorporated areas.  There are no Interstates or United States Highways in the county.  Robinson is located near the center of the county.  Robinson is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 38.3% of the county population.