Crawford Township - Town Histories
Last updated 04 March 2021
Crawfordsville History & Businesses in 1891
Crawfordsville
The town of Crawfordsville has the distinction of being the oldest town in Washington County, the first settler, Adam Ritchey coming to the township in 1836 from Warren County, Illinois.
In 1835, Mr. Ritchie and a neighbor crossed the Mississippi in search of a new home. Being pleased with the country along Crooked Creek they reported favorably and Mr. Ritchie and four
or five of his neighbors, started in Feb. 1836 for the "New Purchase" as the country was then called.
They staked off claims near a stream called Crooked creek, and all returned to Illinois except the adventurous leader who made a rail shanty near the present site of Crooked Creek bridge,
three miles south of Crawfordsville. While there he took sick and might have perished but for the Indians who prepared him food and also provided for his horses.
After putting in about thirty acres of corn and building a cabin one fourth mile south of the present Moorhead house, he returned to Illinois and about Oct 1, 1836 brought his family to their new home.
Several other families came the same year, among them the Neals, who were the first settlers of Crawfordsville. Among the very early settlers were William Huston, John Black, William Wooley,
James McElroy and others, and Mathew Moorhead.
In 1839 a committee consisting of Joseph, Robert, and Walker Neal, went across the creek to meet a like committee to locate a town, but as the latter failed to appear, the Neals laid out the present town
of Crawfordsville and the place was known as Nealtown. . A brother-in-law of the Neals, Dr. Isaac Crawford of New Athens, Ohio, came west on a visit and the Neals proposed to him that if he would
settle here, they would name the township for him. Dr Crawford returned with his family in 1841.
Walker Neal built the first house in town, a one story 16 x 16, all the timber used in it being taken out of the wood, prepared and fit together by himself, without the aid of sawmills or lumberyards.
In 1849, during the excitement of the discovery of gold in California thirteen men went out from Crawfordsville. They were James Ballou, James Crawford, Robert Jennison, Peter Mills,
Caldwell Neal, Wm D. Crawford, and Charles Barker. Mr. Ballou died in the mines.
In 1855 there was great excitement over the Kansas Border Ruffian war and Crawfordsville sent a delegation of five men, buying a team and wagon and entire outfit. Those who went out were James and
Thompson Crawford, James Allen, Thomas Smith and William Morrow. Thompson Crawfrod was afterward with John Brown , but took took sick with pneumonia and had to be left behind, thus saving him
from death at Harper's Ferry and later during the Civil War he was in rebel prisons for 23 months.
The first hotel was built by Samuel Rankin and stood on the corner now occupied by People's State Bank. It was called the "House of All Nations" from the fact that nearly every family had lived in it at some
time, as it was by far the largest house in town. It was also used as a station on the underground, the earlier citizens being much opposed to slavery. Here runaway slaves were concealed during the day and at
night some one would drive them to Columbus City or Iowa City, where they could be hurried on to some other station. There were seven there at one time.
Source: WCGS Fall/Winter 2005 newsletter and Atlas of Keokuk and Washington Counties, Iowa (1971). This page was prepared and posted by Norma Jennings Dec 2012
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