Crawfordsville was founded on the land of Philemon Vawter Crawford in 1870 by Crawford and Robert Glass.[8] When the post office was established in 1870, it was named for Crawford.[8] Crawford was born in Madison, Indiana, in 1814 and he arrived in Oregon via the Oregon Trail in 1851.[8][9] His son, Jasper V. Crawford, was the first postmaster.[8] Philemon Crawford had previously helped establish the Boston Flour Mill near Shedd.[10]
In 1915 Crawfordsville had a population of 300, two sawmills, a flouring mill, a high school, an elementary school, and three churches.[11]
In the early 20th century, Crawfordsville had a population of Sikhs from Pakistan and India who worked for the Calapooya Lumber Company.[12]
Crawfordsville Elementary School, part of the Sweet Home School District, closed in 2011, 158 years after its founding in 1853.[14] Area elementary students now attend Holley Elementary School in Holley.[15]