In 1834, President Andrew Jackson appointed him inspector of revenue for the Oswegatchie district, headquartered in Waddington.
He then ran the steamer on trips between Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, Chicago, and Michigan City.
When the Detroit wrecked off the coast of Kenosha, Byron Kilbourn hired Crawford to run a steamer in the Milwaukee harbor, the Badger.
Crawford was elected to the territorial legislature in 1845 and represented Milwaukee County at the 1846 Wisconsin Constitutional Convention.
Towards the end of his life, he was given the honor of placing the cornerstone of the new Milwaukee County Courthouse, at present-day Cathedral Square Park, in 1873.