If the water seeps in does it go into this "hole"? If yes and you fill the hole where will the water that seeps in go? You need to fix the water infiltration issue first in my opinion.

Assuming the new same-level crawlspace will be dry, if not deal with the water outside the foundation first (actually review it regardless). Then lay a minimum 6mil vapor barrier down, on top of that you can just pour a "mudslab." That is just a thin 2" concrete mix that allows you to carry it under there via a 5gal bucket at a time and trowel it as smooth as you can, no need to be perfect.

There's no reason to use concrete; that would be an expensive nightmare. Order "flowable fill" from the concrete supplier or fill it with crushed stone. Then, assuming you have corrected the drainage issues, install a heavy duty vapor retarder membrane.

How you ventilate or seal the crawlspace is also important. What is the climate?

How high is the floor above the crawlspace? Would it be possible to lower the bottom of the surrounding crawlspace and put the material in the trench?

Talk to a contractor. We had a crawl space dug out in the 70s to improve drainage. It made things worse. A contractor recommended filling with gravel, which was a huge

Thank you for the advice. I think issues around the exterior of the house are solved, I had put in channel and French drains and the grading is good, the house sits on top of a slope. I have recently pulled up the floor to do the kitchen and bath and the crawl is bone dry even in heavy rain, the 140 year old wood has zero rot except one joist over the area where it was dug out and water was allowed to pool. I really think digging below the water table in loam/sandy soil means the water just easily seeps into the ground and right into the hole in heavy rain. I am thinking the gravel solution to above the water table and the sump pump stays. I have been on the fence about the vapor barrier, but maybe this is a preferred route to take? The floor is about 2' above the crawl with wood flooring directly on the joists, no sub floor-though no rot or mildew smell. I am in the eastern side of central VA, 7b climate sandy soil.

No reason not to do a vapor barrier. For radon too.

If you want a housekeeping slab, no cheaper way than bagged concrete from the big box you can do yourself a bucket at a time.

Howdy! What did you ultimately do to address your problem? Did you fill the crawl space up to the water table line w/ gravel and raise your sump pump well to match? Or did you opt for flowable fill? Did you install a vapor barrier after adding material up to the water table line?