Cherokee County is a U.S.

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 Southeast Kansas. Its

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 ...

is Columbus, and its most populous city is Baxter Springs. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 19,362. The county was named for the Cherokee tribe.

History

19th century

In 1803, United States acquired from France the 828,000-square mile

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...

, the former French lands west of the Mississippi River, for 2.83 cents per

acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

. This territory included most of the land for modern-day Kansas. In the 1830s, the United States conducted Indian Removal of the

Five Civilized Tribes The term Five Civilized Tribes was applied by the United States government in the early federal period of the history of the United States to the five major Native American nations in the Southeast: the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Cr ...

from the Southeast region, to extinguish their land claims and allow European-American settlement in the area. They were given lands in what was called

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

west of the Mississippi River, mostly in present-day Oklahoma. This part of Kansas was included at the time in the Cherokee Neutral Lands, and the county was named after this tribe. In 1854, the U.S. organized the

Kansas Territory The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Slave and ...

. Settlers began to move into the territory, with violence breaking out between supporters of slavery and those who wanted to abolish it. In 1861,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

was admitted as the 34th

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 ...

; its constitution prohibited slavery. In 1860, Cherokee County was established.

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 (0.6%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Crawford County (north) *

Jasper County, Missouri Jasper County is located in the southwest portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 122,761. Its county seat is Carthage, and its largest city is Joplin. The county was organized in 1841 and named for W ...

(east) *

Newton County, Missouri Newton County is a County (United States), county located in the southwest portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 58,648. Its county seat is Neosho, Missouri, Neosho. The coun ...

(southeast) *

Ottawa County, Oklahoma Ottawa County is a county located in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,285. Its county seat is Miami. The county was named for the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma. It is also the locat ...

(south) *

Craig County, Oklahoma Craig County is a county in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,107. Its county seat is Vinita. The county was organized in 1907, shortly before statehood, and named for Granville Craig, a prominent Cherok ...

(southwest) * Labette County (west)

Major highways

U.S. Route 69 * US 160

U.S. Route 160 * US 166

U.S. Route 166 * US 400

U.S. Route 400 * K-7

K-7 *

K-26 *

K-57 *

K-66 *

K-96 *

K-102

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, there were 22,605 people, 8,875 households, and 6,239 families residing 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 . There were 10,031 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 92.27%

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 ...

, 0.61%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 3.45% Native American, 0.23% 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 ...

, 0.50% from other races, and 2.90% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.29% of the population. There were 8,875

household A household consists of one or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...

s, out of which 32.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.60% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.70% were non-families. 26.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.02. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.50% under the age of 18, 8.40% from 18 to 24, 26.90% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 15.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 94.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,505, and the median income for a family was $37,284. Males had a median income of $29,045 versus $19,675 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 $14,710. About 11.40% of families and 14.30% 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 19.40% of those under age 18 and 10.60% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Presidential elections

For most of its history, Cherokee County had more of a Democratic lean in presidential elections than the rest of the state, particularly before 1968. Since then, it has only voted for Democratic candidates twice. In 1976 & 1992, it was their second and fourth best county in the state, respectively. From 1996 on, the county has swung powerfully Republican similar to the rest of Southeast Kansas.

Laws

Although the Kansas Constitution was amended in 1986 to allow the sale of alcoholic liquor by the individual drink with the approval of voters, Cherokee County voters chose to remain a prohibition, or "dry", county on Sunday until 2012.

Education

Unified school districts

School districts based in the county include:
Text list
/ref> * Southeast USD 247 (a.k.a. Cherokee USD 247) * Riverton USD 404br>
* Columbus USD 493br>
* Galena USD 499br>
* Baxter Springs USD 508br>
Other school districts include: * Chetopa-St. Paul USD 505 * Oswego USD 504 * Pittsburg USD 250

Communities

List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Cherokee County.

Cities

* Baxter Springs * Columbus (county seat) *

Galena Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver. Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crysta ...

* Roseland * Scammon *

Weir A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

* West Mineral

Unincorporated communities

‡ means a community has portions in an adjacent county. † means a community is designated a

Census-Designated Place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) by the

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

. * Carona * Cokedale * Crestline† * Empire City * Faulkner * Hallowell† * Keelville * Kniveton‡ * Lawton * Lowell† * Melrose * Neutral * Riverton† * Sherman * Sherwin *

Skidmore Skidmore may refer to: Places United States * Skidmore, Kansas * Skidmore, Maryland * Skidmore, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Skidmore, Missouri, a city * Skidmore, Texas * Skidmore, West Virginia * Skidmore Fountain, a public fountai ...

* Stippville * Turck

Ghost towns

* Treece, officially disincorporated in 2012Former residents say goodbye to contaminated town of Treece; The Wichita Eagle; September 27, 2012.

Townships

Cherokee County is divided into fourteen townships. The cities of Baxter Springs, Columbus,

, Scammon, and

are considered ''governmentally independent'' and are excluded from the census figures for the townships. In the following table, the population center is the largest city (or cities) included in that township's population total, if it is of a significant size.