Crawford Street is named in honour of E. Raeburn Crawford
Edwin Crawford residence, 196 Brunswick St.
Edwin Raeburn Crawford
Edwin Raeburn (Rae) Crawford was a well known and highly respected principal of Shakespeare Public School for 25 years. He retired in 1955, and in the same year was chosen as Stratford's "Man of the Year."
Born in Kent County in 1896, Rae Crawford graduated from London Normal School and taught for seven years in Seaforth before coming to Stratford, where he ran his teaching career to 41 years.
His community service extended well beyond his school. He chaired the employment advisory committee for Perth and Huron counties in 1942, and was elected to the advisory council of the Ontario Recreation Associaton. He was an honorary life member of the Ontario Public School Men Teachers' Federation
He had a keen interest in audio-visual equipment, and was a prime mover in the establishment of the audio-visual department at the Stratford Public Library, where he was on the board and taught courses in film projection. In retirement, he took his interest in A / V equipment from a hobby to a part-time business. One of his projects was the restoration of early movie films and slides that had been taken in Stratford and all over the world by the late Dr. Lorne Robertson (see William Street). That early photographic material is now preserved as a valuable historical record and forms part of the Stratford-Perth Archives collection. Crawford became president of the Stratford Film Council, and his extensive knowledge in this field put him "on call" at all times for many local organizations. He was a member of the Ontario Film Council, and president of the Cracker Barrel Club, and the YMCA.
In Stratford, Rae Crawford and his wife, Ina Mae (Ross), lived on at least three streets: 216 Albert St., 196 Brunswick St. and 145 Mornington St. He was 68 when he died in 1964. Source: Streets of Stratford 2004