John Crawfis, a Fairfield County, Ohio, native, and his wife Sarah (Moorehead) bequeathed two grants of $25,000 and five acres for schools in Fairfield and Putnam counties in Ohio in 1880. Constructed in 1889 in Putnam County, Crawfis College was a two-story, twelve-room brick building with an auditorium, science laboratory, grade and recitation rooms, built for $11,000, along with two frame dormitories costing $2,087, and it provided common branches, high school, and business training. Its courses included German, mathematics, science, elocution, penmanship, shorthand, typing, telegraphy, violin, and piano. Its superintendents were L.L. Harmon, Job Hill, L.S. Lafferty, B.J. Beach, W.S. Wallen, John Hathorn, George R. Miller, F.P. Cummins, Dale Richard, Lyle Burkholder, and C.L. Bard. The building committee included A.C. Hall, N. Conine, and B.O. Robinson, and the architect was E. Zoll. In 1831, John's brother Otho Crawfis was the first white settler in Blanchard Township, Putnam County, and they were sons of Nicholas and Mary (McElroy) Crawfis.