The town was named after a pastoral run, which was in turn named by pastoralist John Ross, in 1851, for the Polish city of Kraków, which had recently been the centre for a fight for Polish national independence.
Gold was first discovered in Cracow in 1875 by itinerant fossickers and a further discovery of a nugget was made by an Aboriginal stockman, Johnny Nipps in 1916. In 1931, the Golden Plateau mine was established and it operated continuously until 1976. As of 1977, 19,910 kilograms (43,890 lb) of gold had been extracted from the mine.
At its gold mining peak, the town included five cafes, barber shop, billiard saloon, two butchers, a picture theatre and a soft drink factory. The closure of the mine led to Cracow becoming almost a ghost town with many deserted houses and shops.
Circa 2000, Fred Brophy and wife Sandi purchased the Cracow Hotel. He operated his famous boxing tent as an annual event in Cracow.
In 2004, Newcrest Mining reestablished gold mining in the town, leading to hopes the town may recover. This mine is now operated by Aeris Resources.
The 2019 horror-comedy film Two Heads Creek was filmed on location in Cracow.
Demographics
In the 2011 census, the locality of Cracow and the surrounding area had a population of 196 people.
In the 2016 census, the locality of Cracow had a population of 89 people.
In the 2021 census, the locality of Cracow had a population of 114 people.
There is also a caravan park located at 11 Third Avenue, next to the old court house which has been turned into a mining museum.
Education
There are no schools in Cracow. The nearest government schoola is Theodore State School in Theodore to the north-west; it provides primary education and secondary education to Year 10. There is no nearby school providing secondary education to Year 12; options are distance education and boarding school.
^Ross, Shelley (November–December 2007). "Meet you at The Cracow"(PDF). Flying. pp. 60–63. Archived(PDF) from the original on 20 March 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
^Ross, Shelley (November–December 2007). "Meet you at The Cracow"(PDF). Flying. pp. 60–63. Archived(PDF) from the original on 20 March 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.