Crawford County Cooperative Extension -

County Information

Facts about Crawford County

Crawford County was a frontier trading center in the 1700’s through the efforts of traders like David Mead, for whom Meadville, the County seat is named. The next millennium will be celebrated by events such as reliving George Washington’s trek down French Creek after seeking the French Governor’s surrender at Ft. LeBeouf, which is commemorated in Erie County. Millennium celebrations will abound with history and welcome to highlight the county’s unique features.

Many visit Conneaut Lake, the commonwealth’s largest natural inland lake, and a long-standing resort community. Allegheny College, oldest college in continuos use west of the Allegheny River, founded in 1815, continues to provide a prestigious art and environmental educational resource to the region.

Crawford County lies adjacent to Ohio, with quick travel to Pittsburgh, Erie, Cleveland, and Buffalo. The county supports a robust agricultural community, tourist opportunity and major tool and die trade.

Crawford County is located in northwest Pennsylvania, covers an area of 1038 square miles, and the 1990 population was 86,169. The eastern part of the county is wooded, while the western part shares glacial farm land with lakes, drainage and marsh. Overall, the county is rural, with corridors of development and small stable Victorian era communities.

Traditionally, agriculture dominates the activities of the land, and of extension programming. In 1997, the dairy industry milked 20,000 cows to produce 328,000 pounds of milk and products valued at $46,965,000. Total livestock was valued at $34,200,500 among 2,000 hogs, 48,500 cattle, and 700 sheep. Acreage planted totaled 31,500, with 18,500 raising grain. Production was valued at $5,387,200 among mostly family farms. Maple producers marketed 72,000 gallons of maple syrup valued at $1.64 million. Loss of farmland to urban pressures and marginal economic scale are threats to agriculture in the county.

Cooperative Extension emphasizes sustainable agriculture, dairy management, healthy family living, youth development, as well as rural and community natural resource stewardship.