Crawford Nebraska

City · Dawes County · Population 840 (2020 census) · ZIP 69339 · Founded 1886 · Peak population 1,845 (1940)

About Crawford

Crawford is a city of 840 (2020) in western Dawes County, on the White River at about 3,680 feet, with the Legend Buttes to the west and Crow Butte to the east. US 20, the Bridges to Buttes Byway, runs through town, and NE 2 and NE 71 come in together from Marsland and the south, share US 20 for about a mile, and go on north to South Dakota. Fort Robinson State Park is about 3 miles west, and Toadstool Geologic Park and Hudson-Meng are north of town in the Oglala National Grassland. BNSF keeps helper engines here to push trains up "Crawford Hill." Crawford is on Mountain Time.

History

The Western Townsite Company platted Crawford on June 21, 1886, on William Annin's tree claim, as the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley (later Chicago & North Western) built west. It began as a tent town serving the soldiers of Fort Robinson, who supplied most of the signatures needed to incorporate it as a village that summer. The name honors Capt. Emmet Crawford of the 3rd Cavalry, who had served at Fort Robinson and was killed in Mexico in January 1886. The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy crossed the North Western here in 1888–89, and Crawford became a city in 1907. On December 16, 1900, Baptiste "Little Bat" Garnier, chief of the Fort Robinson scouts, was shot in a saloon at 2nd and Main.

The 1909 Co-operative Block and the 1938–39 post office, with its 1940 mural The Crossing, are on the National Register. The population peaked at 1,845 in 1940. The North Western line west of Crawford was abandoned in 1992; the Nebraska Northwestern Railroad now runs east to Chadron. In June 2026 the lightning-caused South Fork Fire burned about 39,700 acres west of town, and Crawford was briefly under an evacuation notice.

Highways and trails through Crawford

Route	One way	Other way
US 20The Bridges to Buttes Byway, through town	East to Whitney and Chadron	West past Fort Robinson to Harrison
NE 2 / NE 71Run together; share US 20 for about a mile in town	South to Marsland, Hemingford and Scottsbluff	North to the South Dakota line

Nearby towns

Horn	about 6 mi north-northwest	NE 2/71
Belmont	about 10 mi south-southeast	County roads
Glen	about 10 mi west-southwest	US 20
Whitney	about 11 mi northeast	US 20
Pine Ridge	about 13 mi south-southwest	County roads
Marsland	about 18 mi south-southeast	NE 2/71
Chadron	about 23 mi east-northeast	US 20
Harrison	about 24 mi west	US 20

Things to see

Fort Robinson State Park, 3 mi west: the Fort Robinson History Center, the Trailside Museum, the Post Playhouse summer theater and the Crazy Horse death-site marker · the Crawford Historical Museum, 341 2nd St. (mid-May to mid-October, Mon–Sat) · the Death of Baptiste Garnier marker, 304 2nd St., and the Red Cloud Agency site marker on US 20 west of town · the 1909 Co-operative Block, 435–445 2nd St., and the 1939 post office, 144 Main St. (both National Register) · Crawford City Park at the west end of Main St., with camping ($20 with electric, $10 without) and a free dump station · Legend Buttes Golf Course, 9 holes on US 20 toward the fort · Toadstool Geologic Park and Hudson-Meng north of town (in Sioux County) · the Old West Trail Rodeo on July 3–4 and the Peabody Hale Fiddle Contest in late July

Events in Crawford

Old West Trail Rodeo
The Old West Trail PRCA Rodeo in Crawford, Nebraska, is a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association sanctioned event held annually on July 3rd and 4th at the Crawford R…

Know of another event here? Tell us about it.

Schools and health care

Schools: Crawford Public Schools (Rams), 908 5th St., (308) 665-1537: Crawford Elementary (PK–6) and Crawford High School (7–12)

Health care: Legend Buttes Health Services, a clinic of Chadron Community Hospital, 11 Paddock St., (308) 665-1770; Ponderosa Villa nursing home, 755 First St.; nearest hospital in Chadron, about 23 mi

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Who's Who in Nebraska, Dawes County (1940); Nebraska State Gazetteer (1890); Nebraska Blue Book (1926); History Nebraska and its markers; National Register nominations; Nebraska Game and Parks; U.S. Forest Service (Nebraska National Forest, Pine Ridge Ranger District); University of Nebraska State Museum; Nebraska Department of Transportation; Nebraska Emergency Management Agency; Dawes County; City of Chadron; City of Crawford; Chadron State College; Chadron Public Schools; Crawford Public Schools; Chadron Community Hospital; Discover Northwest Nebraska; Visit Nebraska; KNOP; KRVN. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.