Crawford County Messenger and CCHS News

With the recent opening of Cussewago Square, it seemed appropriate to take a moment to bring attention to the history of the location, as well as to take advantage of the opportunity to highlight one...

Leonard Graves was an expert blacksmith who learned the carpentry trade by building carriages as a hobby for family and friends. During the post-war period following the Civil War, business was booming, and demand for...

2025, marks the 117th anniversary of one of the more gruesome episodes in the long history of Crawford County’s old jail. It all begins on Christmas Eve, 1908, when Jack Cronin uses a .32 revolver...

Crawford County has rarely stifled its opinions regarding national politics. The tone was set by residents in 1807 who burned an effigy of Federalist, Aaron Burr outside the courthouse. And this was hardly the county’s...

The morning after – charred remains of the fire’s path. The Hotel Conneaut stands untouched in the background. As the morning darkness of December 2, 1908, dissolved into daylight, a scene of utter destruction revealed...

Clarence F. Underwood – 1905 Clarence Frederick Underwood [1871-1929] was one of the leading illustrators and commercial artists of his generation, providing work to a range of books as well as highly circulated publications such...

Coach John Heisman (center) with his 1909 Georgia Tech team. The name Heisman has become synonymous with the best in college football, however it is often forgotten that the man behind the trophy found his...

Front view of the Saegertown Inn with French Creek along left side. With the overwhelming interest in photographs of the Saegertown Inn recently posted on the Crawford County Historical Society’s social media pages, what better...

From a 1907 postcard, Conneaut Lake’s main thoroughfare (Water Street) facing west. With summer now if full swing, many area residents and vacationers have already made their way to Conneaut Lake to enjoy the many...

Oakwood Park, Meadville PA In the late 1890’s, after acquiring a parcel of approximately 35 acres, the Meadville Traction Company established Oakwood Park as a destination resort. Located in what is now West Mead Township,...

The Sanborn Map Company Those interested in the past often obsess over the “when” of things. The first person settled in 1822. The first brick home was built in 1845. The first train arrived in...

Allegheny students wait at the Exposition Park trolley station – 1913 On May 30, 1906, the Meadville and Conneaut Lake Traction (M&CLT) Company formed with a goal of bringing trolley service to Exposition Park (Conneaut...