Cherokee County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. As of the 2020 census, its population was 50,412. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Rusk A rusk is a hard, dry Biscuit#Biscuits in British usage, biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk. In the ...

, which lies 130 miles southeast of

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

and 160 miles north of

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. The county was named for the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

, who lived in the area before being expelled in 1839. Cherokee County comprises the

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

micropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the Tyler–Jacksonville combined statistical area.

History

Native Americans

The

Hasinai The Hasinai Confederacy (Caddo: ) was a large confederation of Caddo-speaking Native Americans who occupied territory between the Sabine and Trinity rivers in eastern Texas. Today, their descendants are enrolled in the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma an ...

group of the

Caddo The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language. The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, who ...

tribe built a village in the area in around AD 800 and continued to live in the area until the 1830s, when they migrated to the

Brazos River The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 14th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater ...

. The federal government moved them to the Brazos Indian Reservation in 1855 and later to Oklahoma. The

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

, and Kickapoo Native American peoples began settling in the area around 1820. The Texas Cherokee tried unsuccessfully to gain a grant to their own land from the Mexican government.

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two indi ...

, adopted son of Chief Oolooteka ( John Jolly) of the Cherokee, negotiated the January 14, 1836, treaty between Chief Bowl of the Cherokee and the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

. On December 16, 1837, the Texas Senate declared the treaty null and void, and encroachment upon Cherokee lands continued. On October 5, 1838, Indians massacred members of the Isaac Killough family at their farm northwest of the site of present

, leading to the Cherokee War of 1839 and the expulsion of some to Oklahoma. Some went to Monclova in Mexico, and some to

and Gregg counties (many had relatives among the

Choctaw The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, United States. Their traditional territory was in northern Mississippi, northwestern and northern Alabama, western Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky. Their language is ...

/ Creek community there). Later, in 1844, President Polk issued an executive order known as "The Right to return", allowing many Cherokee to return to Texas. Some came to what is now Cherokee County.

Early exploration and settlers

Domingo Terán de los Ríos and Father Damián Massanet explored the area on behalf of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in 1691.

Louis Juchereau de St. Denis Louis Antoine Juchereau de St. Denis (; September 17, 1676 – June 11, 1744) was a French-Canadian soldier and explorer best known for his exploration and development of the Louisiana (New France) and Spanish Texas regions. He commanded a smal ...

began trading with the Hasinais in 1705. Nuestro Padre San Francisco de los Tejas was originally established in 1690, but was re-established in 1716 by Captain Domingo Ramon. It was abandoned again because of French incursions and re-established in 1721 by the Marques de San Miguel de Aguyao. In 1826, empresario David G. Burnet received a grant from the

Coahuila y Tejas Coahuila y Tejas, officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila y Tejas (), was one of the constituent states of the newly established United Mexican States under its 1824 Constitution. It had two capitals: first Saltillo (1822–1825) f ...

legislature to settle 300 families. The settlers were mostly from the Southern states, and brought the lifestyle of that region with them. By contracting how many families each grantee could settle, the government sought to have some control over colonization.

County established and growth

Cherokee County was formed from land given by Nacogdoches County in 1846. It was organized in the same year. The town of

became the

. Cherokee County voted in favor of

secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

from the Union, during the build-up to the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. In 1872, the International – Great Northern Railroad caused

to relocate two miles east, to be near the tracks. The Kansas and Gulf Short Line Railway was built north-to-south through the county between 1882 and 1885. The Texas and New Orleans Railroad in 1905, and the Texas State Railroad in 1910, each gave rise to new county towns along their tracks.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.9%) is covered by water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 69 * U.S. Highway 79 * U.S. Highway 84 * U.S. Highway 175 * State Highway 21 * State Highway 110 * State Highway 135 * State Highway 204 * State Highway 294

Adjacent counties

* Smith County (north) * Rusk County (northeast, east) * Nacogdoches County (east, southeast) * Angelina County (southeast) * Houston County (southwest) * Anderson County (west) * Henderson County (northwest)

National protected area

* Neches River National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Communities

Cities

* Gallatin *

* New Summerfield * Reklaw (partly in Rusk County) *

(county seat) * Troup (mostly in Smith County)

Towns

Alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: '' altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in ch ...

* Bullard (mostly in Smith County) * Cuney * Wells

Census-designated place

* Shadybrook

Unincorporated communities

Blackjack Blackjack (formerly black jack or ''vingt-un'') is a casino banking game. It is the most widely played casino banking game in the world. It uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as " twenty-one ...

* Central High *

Circle A circle is a shape consisting of all point (geometry), points in a plane (mathematics), plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the Centre (geometry), centre. The distance between any point of the circle and the centre is cal ...

* Concord * Cove Springs *

Craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

* Dialville * Elm Grove *

Forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

* Gould * Henry's Chapel * Ironton * Linwood * Maydelle * Mixon * Mount Selman * New Hope *

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

* Pine Grove * Ponta * Reese * Salem * Shady Grove * Sweet Union * Weeping Mary

Ghost towns

* Atoy * Brunswick * Bulah *

Corine Coordination of Information on the Environment (CORINE) is a European programme initiated in 1985 by the European Commission, aimed at gathering information relating to the environment on certain priority topics for the European Union (air, water ...

* Earle's Chapel *

Emmaus Emmaus ( ; ; ; ) is a town mentioned in the Gospel of Luke of the New Testament. Luke reports that Jesus appeared, after his death and resurrection, before two of his disciples while they were walking on the road to Emmaus. Although its geograp ...

* Etna *

Griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

Larissa Larissa (; , , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 148,562 in the city proper, according to the 2021 census. It is also the capital of the Larissa ...

* Lone Star * Mewshaw * Morrill * New Birmingham * Pierces Chapel *

Prices A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation expected, required, or given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, especially when the product is a service rather than a phys ...

* Redlawn * Rock Hill * Tecula * Turney * Wildhurst

Demographics

At the 2000 United States census there were 46,659 people, 16,651 households, and 12,105 families resided in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . The 19,173 housing units averaged . The racial and ethnic makeup of the county was 74.34%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 15.96% Black or African American, 0.47% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 7.43% from other races, and 1.34% from two or more races. About 13.24% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. By 2020, its population increased to 50,412. The racial and ethnic makeup at the 2020 United States census was 59.70%

non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

, 12.61% Black or African American, 0.25%

American Indian and Alaska Native Native Americans (also called American Indians, First Americans, or Indigenous Americans) are the Indigenous peoples of the United States, particularly of the lower 48 states and Alaska. They may also include any Americans whose origins lie ...

, 0.52% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.24% some other race, 3.23% two or more races, and 23.40% Hispanic or Latino of any race. The increase among its Hispanic and Asian American populations represented the nationwide demographic shift since the 2020 census. Of the 16,651 households in 2000, 33.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.70% were married couples living together, 12.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.30% were not families. Around 24.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63, and the average family size was 3.11. In 2020 according to the

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

, there were 18,540 households with an average household size of 2.65 and average family size of 3.07. At the 2000 census, the median income for a household in the county was $29,313, and for a family was $34,750. Males had a median income of $26,410 versus $19,788 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $13,980. About 13.70% of families and 17.90% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 23.30% of those under age 18 and 15.10% of those age 65 or over. The 2020 American Community Survey's estimates determined there was a median household income of $50,199 with a per capita income of $66,658.

Media

Cherokee County is part of the Tyler/ Longview/

DMA. Local media outlets are: KLTV, KTRE-TV, KYTX-TV, KFXK-TV, KCEB-TV, and KETK-TV. Newspapers in the county include the ''Jacksonville Progress'', which publishes three editions a week in Jacksonville, and the weekly ''Cherokeean Herald'' in Rusk.

Education

School districts within Cherokee County Texas include the following: * Alto Independent School District * Bullard Independent School District * Carlisle Independent School District * Jacksonville Independent School District * New Summerfield Independent School District * Rusk Independent School District * Troup Independent School District * Wells Independent School District Areas in Bullard, Jacksonville, New Summerfield, Rusk, and Troup are assigned to Tyler Junior College. Areas of Cherokee County in Alto ISD and Wells ISD are assigned to Angelina College. Areas in Carlisle ISD are assigned to Kilgore College.Texas Education Code, Sec. 130.165. ANGELINA COUNTY JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA. Sec. 130.184. KILGORE JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA. Sec. 130.206. TYLER JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.
Legislation does not specify a community college for the remainder of the county.

Politics

References

External links

Cherokee County in ''Handbook of Texas Online''
at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

Historic Cherokee County materials
hosted by th
Portal to Texas History.

{{Authority control 1846 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1846