Crawfordsville news: Some history of Crawfordsville

I have taken much of this information from a book written in 1971 by the late Hazel Davidson Moorhead who was a descendant of one of the early settlers in Crawfordsville. Many of her articles were taken from the” Crawfordsville Imprint.”

Crawfordsville has the distinction of being the only town in Crawford Township. Although it isn't a growing town, the population has remained much the same over the years, with around 288 residents. Most houses are one family dwellings or one with only one resident. It, like many small towns, has many residents sixty-five or older.

The original settlers in the area were of Anglo-Saxon origin. The descendants of these people intermarried with the Welsh to the east, the Swedes to the south, the Germans to the west and to a lesser extent the Bohemians that settled to the north. In spite of the blending and the mobility of modern society, many of the early names remain in place.

In 1835, Adam Ritchey and his neighbor, John Black, came from Illinois exploring and in search of a new home. Mr. Ritchey staked a claim on the south side of Crooked Creek, three miles south of what is now the town of Crawfordsville. He built a rail shanty and covered it with grass and spent the winter there. He became ill and the Indians fed him and cared for him and his horse. By February of 1836 he was able to go back to his home and bring two of his children back with him. They helped him put in a crop and build a more substantial cabin. The rest of the Ritchey family followed.

That same year, Matthew Moorhead came from Illinois to look over the new land. He liked the cabin and location so a deal, 'a relinquishment” of claim was made and he went back for his wife and two small children. They arrived in July of 1837 and took up permanent residence. It is not known when Mr. Ritchey moved to his other holdings in Scott Township, Henry County, as he was gone before the Moorheads arrived.

The Ritchey settlement was in Scott Township, Henry County, and for a time the part in Washington County where they lived was considered a part of it. This led to much confusion and the original part was mapped in Washington County. Crooked Creek was no longer the dividing line. With that, Matthew Moornead became the first permanent settler in Crawford Township.

Early records show that among the first people to come to what is now known as Crawfordsville were the Neal brothers. The date the town was laid out was July 4, 1839 and it was called Nealtown. Some records say it wasn't surveyed until 1841. There were eight blocks laid off and each block had eight lots. The plot was four blocks long, north to south and two blocks, east to west. The east-west streets, beginning at the north line were North, Vine, Columbus, Smithfield and South.

Those running north-south, beginning at the east line were Chestnut, Main and Washington. Most businesses were on Main. It is interesting that mainly these are still the names of most of the streets today.

They soon realized they needed a doctor in town and the Neals persuaded their brother-in-law, Dr. Isaac Crawford, to come from Ohio. He came and in 1844, the name was changed to Crawfordsville in his honor. The township then took the name of Crawford, the only name it has ever had. Crawfordsville is the only town in the township, which is very rare, and it was incorporated in 1891.

It is said that before the town was legally located a committee made up of the Neals went across Crooked Creek to meet a committee from Henry County to decide on the location. The latter failed to appear so the Neals proceeded to lay out the present town.

The first issue of the Crawfordsville Imprint was January 6, 1894. The Winfield Beacon on Jan. 19, 1894, had this item: 'Over half a century, Crawfordsville has been on the face of the earth, and much of this time there has been a longing for a newspaper. It states last week F.T. Wolf moved into town and issued the Imprint, a six column folio, full of news and neatly printed. Wolf was a bigger man in town than the president of the United States.”

Every business and professional man in town and surrounding area had an ad in the paper - 32 of them. If carpenters, plasters, draymen, etc. had been included there would have been 40 or more. Hazel Davidson Moorheard wrote in 1971, 'Where have all these businesses gone? There were many editors and eventually circulation became so small that it was a losing venture and to date there has been no other newspaper in town.

The location of the first Imprint was on the west side of the square where a cafe was located. The building was sold in 1894 to make way for the cafe and the shop moved to North Main on the west side. That building was later also purchased and the print shop was moved to west Columbus St. P.L. Huber published the paper there for several years and upon his death, the equipment was moved to a vacant store room on North Main, but was soon just a memory.

Stay tuned for more Crawfordsville news next week.