Crawford County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 14,074. The county seat is Grayling.The County is named for Col. William Crawford, a Revolutionary War soldier killed in 1782 while fighting Native Americans in Ohio. It was set off in 1840 as Shawono County, but renamed Crawford in 1843. The county was organized in 1879. See List of Michigan county name etymologies