[1] Crafts later purchased a farm in the neighboring town of Sturbridge, Massachusetts, where he built the large Publick House in the center of the village.

[1] After the battles of Lexington and Concord, he raised a company of cavalry in the adjoining towns of Sturbridge, Charlton, Dudley, and Oxford, and was commissioned its captain.

He was ordered to join the army with it at Cambridge, and remained in the service until the evacuation of Boston by the British troops, when he returned to Sturbridge.

[1] During the outbreak known as "Shays' Rebellion," in western Massachusetts, he rendered prompt and efficient service in its suppression, under Gen. Benjamin Lincoln, in the winter of 1786–1787.

[1] Col. Crafts conceived the idea of founding an academy in Sturbridge, but the opportunity to secure the mansion of Aaron Lopez, in the neighboring town of Leicester, Massachusetts, induced him to modify his plans.