Crawford County, Indiana: History
The first white settler, Thomas Ogle Stroud, arrived in the area in March 1806, settling on the Cider Fork of Whiskey Run creek.
Crawford County was formed on January 5, 1818, from land in the Harrison, Orange, and Perry counties, prompted by a petition of what would become of Crawford County's population. Some say it was named for William H. Crawford, who was U.S. Treasury Secretary in 1818. Others say it was named for Col. William Crawford, who fought in the French and Indian War and Revolutionary War, and who was burned and scalped by Indians in 1782 in what is now Wyandot County, Ohio. The county seat was in Leavenworth for several decades but eventually moved to English.
Bands of "White Caps" terrorized the county in the late 1880s, according to a report by Attorney General Louis T. Michener. Blacks and others they disliked were forced out; victims, both male and female, were severely whipped.