Day 41: Ellis Crawford

A renowned archaeologist and curator was from Mason County.

According to local historian Ron Bailey, Ellis C. Crawford was born in Mason County on May 21, 1905 to Harry and Mary Crawford.

Bailey said Crawford first became interested in archaeology while living in Mason County.

“He grew up near Indian Mounds here in Mason County,” Bailey said. “He moved to Northern Kentucky around 1927 and married and settled in Covington.”

According to Bailey, while in Northern Kentucky, Crawford held jobs in an aluminum plant before becoming acquainted with William Behringer. This man was a geologic specimens and archaeological finds collector. He collected items from all over the world.

In 1948, Crawford became the curator of the Behringer museum that was located in Covington.

“Ellis Crawford loved the field work as he assembled a team in the 50s that conducted a 20 year dig at the Woodland period mound and village site in Boone County. He became a very sought-after archaeologist, and he formed the Northern Kentucky Archaeologist Society which explored American Indian sites along the Ohio River and its tributaries,” Bailey said.

Bailey said Crawford began working on the Rogers Indian Mound near Petersburg. He also oversaw digs all over Northern Kentucky, including the Big Bone Lick area in the 1960s.

“His discovering of fossils was documented all over the world. His meticulous work in this area and along with his collections and documentations of his findings led to the development of the Big Bone State Park in Boone County,” Bailey said.

In 1961, Crawford was elected to become a member of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontologists. This is a national group of scientists who study vertebrates fossils.

Eventually, Crawford was also honored by the City of Covington as city officials renamed the museum the Behringer-Crawford Museum.

Crawford died in Northern Kentucky in 1972.

“The Mason County native word many hats as he was an archaeologist, geologist, and naturalist who was a driving force researching and preserving Northern Kentucky prehistoric history,” Bailey said.