To the area that later became Montgomery County and Crawfordsville, came native peoples referred to simply as a "Prehistoric race". They left no written records but there is evidence of them in mounds and tombs and their implements. Native Americans living in the area in the 1800's were of mixed nationalities. The tribes included the Piankeshaws, the Miamis, the Potawatomis and the Shawnees. The first Europeans in the area were French traders who traveled along Sugar Creek and missionaries who came to convert the Indians. Isaac McCoy, a Baptist missionary kept detailed diaries of his efforts to start schoolsfor the natives and his notes indicate that a large number of his encounters with the natives took place in what is now Montgomery Co.
In 1813, when the county was still Indian territory, Major Ambrose Whitlock, Captain Williamson Dunn and Lieutenant Henry Ristine, along with a company of Rangers, were traversing the whole region of the Wabash Valley. During the War of 1812, American Ranger units patrolled the frontier to keep the Indians under observation and control since many tribes sided with the British in the war. They came across a spot where the flat prairies of the north and west ended and the rolling land of the south began. There was a lively stream with good mill sites and a high ridge forming a series of gullies or small valleys dotted with clear springs. The southern end of the county was densely wooded. The abundant oak, poplar, walnut, sugar maple, and sycamore thinned out as one moved into the northern area. Shale and clay were visible on the bluffs and bank of many streams. The fish and game were plentiful. They agreed that the land bordering Sugar Creek would be a good site for a settlement. It was nearly 10 years before the three officers returned with their families. William Miller had already built the first cabin, locating it on the bluff along Sugar Creek. In the spring of 1823, Ristine built the second.
The Treaty of St. Mary's (in Ohio), also called the New Purchase, wherein the Wyandottes, Potawatomis, Weas, Delawares, Miamis and Eel River Miamis, ceded their lands north of the 10 o'clock line to the U S government was signed in the Fall of 1818. This opened up central and northern Indiana for settlement. On December 21, 1822, the Indiana General Assembly voted to organize Montgomery County. As was a custom of the times, the county was named in honor of a Revolutionary War hero, General Richard Montgomery. In 1823, the Federal Land Office was moved to the area now called Crawfordsville from Terre Haute. Williamson Dunn was the Registrar and Ambrose Whitlock the Receiver and the head of the Land Office. The city was named by Whitlock after William Crawford, who was Secretary of the Treasury.
Many of the early settlers to the area came from Kentucky (especially Shelby Co.), Virginia, North Carolina, and Ohio. There were many reasons for the settlers to move to the area including a good suppy of farm land, the possibility of water-powered mills along Sugar Creek, and a seemingly inexhaustable supply of timber. In addition the settlers were able to purchase a clear deed to land. Many states during that time did not provide a "clear title" to the land and often the early settlers were plagued by litigation.
Crawfordsville's growth in the nineteenth century came from its position as the county seat. Railroads, the horse business, and access to higher education became a major factor in the growth of the area by 1853. The Monon Railroad was established. Several other lines were built through the area making Crawfordsville a hub for commerce and transportation. Wabash College was established in 1832. Wabash College was one of the earliest all-male schools of higher education in the Mid-West. Wabash College remains unique today because it remains an all male institution.
With the improved transportation, commerce began to flourish. The city had woolen mills, tanneries, carriage and wagon making tile and brick factories, marble cutting, machine shops, furniture making and meat packing. By 1875 Crawfordsville had gas lights. By 1882, the city had telephones, and by 1890, a municipally owned electric plant. By the end of the century, Crawfordsville was the financial and trading center of the surrounding rich agricultural region and it was continuing it's industrial development.
Crawfordsville is proud of its history. The Henry S. Lane Mansion and the Lew Wallace Study still stand and are open for the public to tour. Many of the county's celebrated covered bridges can be seen (circa 1998), and the only operational rotating jailhouse in the country (on the National Register of Historic Places) is located on the north end of the city.
Adapted from "Montgomery County: Focus on Government and Other Services" published by the Montgomery County League of Women Voters, 1998 by web link
Additional information and adaptation by Pat Mount.