Cherokee County, Kansas

Not to be confused with Cherokee, Kansas.

Cherokee County
County
Tri-State Marker (2006)
Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
Kansas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 37°10′N94°51′W / 37.167°N 94.850°W / 37.167; -94.850
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Founded	February 18, 1860
Named for	Cherokee Native Americans
Seat	Columbus
Largest city	Baxter Springs
Area
• Total	591 sq mi (1,530 km2)
• Land	588 sq mi (1,520 km2)
• Water	3.5 sq mi (9 km2)  0.6%
Population  (2020) [1]
• Total	19,362
• Density	32.9/sq mi (12.7/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Area code	620
Congressional district	2nd
Website	cherokeecountyks.gov

Cherokee County is a U.S. county located in Southeast Kansas. Its county seat is Columbus, ^[2] and its most populous city is Baxter Springs. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 19,362. ^[1] The county was named for the Cherokee tribe.

History

See also: History of Kansas

19th century

In 1803, United States acquired from France the 828,000-square mile Louisiana Purchase, the former French lands west of the Mississippi River, for 2.83 cents per acre. 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 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 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. 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 was admitted as the 34th U.S. state; its constitution prohibited slavery. In 1860, Cherokee County was established.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 591 square miles (1,530 km²), of which 588 square miles (1,520 km²) is land and 3.5 square miles (9.1 km²) (0.6%) is water. ^[3]

Adjacent counties

• Crawford County (north)
• Jasper County, Missouri (east)
• Newton County, Missouri (southeast)
• Ottawa County, Oklahoma (south)
• Craig County, Oklahoma (southwest)
• Labette County (west)

Major highways

Sources: National Atlas, ^[4] U.S. Census Bureau ^[5]

• U.S. Route 66 (decommissioned)
• U.S. Route 69
• U.S. Route 160
• U.S. Route 166
• Kansas Highway 7
• Kansas Highway 26
• Kansas Highway 57
• Kansas Highway 66 (successor to the decommissioned U.S. 66)
• Kansas Highway 96
• Kansas Highway 102

Demographics

Population pyramid based on 2000 census age data

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	1,501		—
1870	11,038		635.4%
1880	21,905		98.5%
1890	27,770		26.8%
1900	42,694		53.7%
1910	38,162		−10.6%
1920	33,609		−11.9%
1930	31,457		−6.4%
1940	29,817		−5.2%
1950	25,144		−15.7%
1960	22,279		−11.4%
1970	21,549		−3.3%
1980	22,304		3.5%
1990	21,374		−4.2%
2000	22,605		5.8%
2010	21,603		−4.4%
2020	19,362		−10.4%
2023 (est.)	19,054	[6]	−1.6%
U.S. Decennial Census [7] 1790-1960 [8] 1900-1990 [9] 1990-2000 [10] 2010-2020 [1]

As of the 2000 census, ^[11] there were 22,605 people, 8,875 households, and 6,239 families residing in the county. The population density was 38 people per square mile (15 people/km²). There were 10,031 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile (6.6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.27% White, 0.61% Black or African American, 3.45% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from other races, and 2.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.29% of the population.

There were 8,875 households, out of which 32.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.60% were married couples 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 for the county was $14,710. About 11.40% of families and 14.30% of the population were below the poverty line, 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, with Hillary Clinton posting the worst percentage for a Democratic candidate ever at only 23.3%.

Presidential election results

United States presidential election results for Cherokee County, Kansas ^[12]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	6,766	73.94%	2,194	23.98%	191	2.09%
2016	6,182	70.91%	2,005	23.00%	531	6.09%
2012	5,456	63.66%	2,930	34.19%	185	2.16%
2008	5,886	60.90%	3,594	37.19%	185	1.91%
2004	6,083	61.36%	3,726	37.59%	104	1.05%
2000	5,014	54.92%	3,783	41.43%	333	3.65%
1996	4,138	45.76%	3,771	41.70%	1,134	12.54%
1992	3,589	36.78%	4,083	41.85%	2,085	21.37%
1988	4,281	50.95%	4,069	48.43%	52	0.62%
1984	5,801	60.72%	3,663	38.34%	89	0.93%
1980	5,296	54.81%	3,969	41.08%	397	4.11%
1976	3,957	42.93%	5,154	55.91%	107	1.16%
1972	6,019	67.03%	2,806	31.25%	155	1.73%
1968	4,211	47.46%	3,597	40.54%	1,064	11.99%
1964	3,730	39.28%	5,720	60.23%	47	0.49%
1960	5,753	56.45%	4,366	42.84%	73	0.72%
1956	5,824	58.39%	4,112	41.22%	39	0.39%
1952	6,261	57.37%	4,597	42.12%	56	0.51%
1948	4,616	47.77%	4,854	50.23%	193	2.00%
1944	5,458	54.65%	4,468	44.73%	62	0.62%
1940	6,600	49.27%	6,670	49.79%	126	0.94%
1936	5,445	40.61%	7,894	58.88%	69	0.51%
1932	4,045	34.05%	7,442	62.64%	393	3.31%
1928	7,478	66.20%	3,442	30.47%	376	3.33%
1924	5,437	52.90%	3,071	29.88%	1,770	17.22%
1920	5,466	55.83%	3,832	39.14%	492	5.03%
1916	4,350	37.55%	6,188	53.41%	1,047	9.04%
1912	1,994	26.54%	2,641	35.15%	2,878	38.31%
1908	3,893	44.26%	3,819	43.42%	1,083	12.31%
1904	4,586	55.81%	2,253	27.42%	1,378	16.77%
1900	4,478	45.18%	5,302	53.50%	131	1.32%
1896	3,505	40.20%	5,108	58.58%	106	1.22%
1892	2,696	41.43%	0	0.00%	3,812	58.57%
1888	2,935	45.62%	2,038	31.68%	1,461	22.71%

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. ^[13]

Education

Unified school districts

• Southeast USD 247
• Riverton USD 404
• Columbus USD 493
• Galena USD 499
• Baxter Springs USD 508

Communities

2005 map of Cherokee County (map legend)

List of townships / incorporated cities / unincorporated communities / extinct former communities within Cherokee County. ^[14]

Cities

• Baxter Springs
• Columbus (county seat)
• Galena
• Roseland
• Scammon
• Weir
• West Mineral

Unincorporated communities

‡ means a community has portions in an adjacent county. † means a community is designated a Census-Designated Place (CDP) by the United States Census Bureau.

• Carona
• Cokedale
• Crestline†
• Empire City
• Faulkner
• Hallowell†
• Keelville
• Kniveton‡
• Lawton
• Lowell†
• Melrose
• Neutral
• Riverton†
• Sherman
• Sherwin
• Skidmore
• Stippville
• Turck

Ghost towns

• Treece, officially disincorporated in 2012 ^{[15] [16]}

Townships

Cherokee County is divided into fourteen townships. The cities of Baxter Springs, Columbus, Galena, Scammon, and Weir 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.

Township	FIPS	Population center	Population	Population density /km2 (/sq mi)	Land area km2 (sq mi)	Water area km2 (sq mi)	Water %	Geographic coordinates
Cherokee	12800		336	6 (15)	57 (22)	0 (0)	0.08%	37°18′33″N94°45′36″W / 37.30917°N 94.76000°W / 37.30917; -94.76000
Crawford	16225		646	7 (18)	94 (36)	0 (0)	0.24%	37°9′21″N94°47′11″W / 37.15583°N 94.78639°W / 37.15583; -94.78639
Garden	25250		3,039	41 (105)	75 (29)	2 (1)	2.80%	37°2′55″N94°41′18″W / 37.04861°N 94.68833°W / 37.04861; -94.68833
Lola	42350		382	3 (9)	115 (44)	1 (0)	0.50%	37°10′25″N95°0′15″W / 37.17361°N 95.00417°W / 37.17361; -95.00417
Lowell	43075		672	20 (52)	33 (13)	1 (0)	3.04%	37°6′11″N94°40′23″W / 37.10306°N 94.67306°W / 37.10306; -94.67306
Lyon	43400		528	4 (11)	130 (50)	0 (0)	0.08%	37°2′19″N94°52′37″W / 37.03861°N 94.87694°W / 37.03861; -94.87694
Mineral	47000		254	3 (8)	79 (31)	0 (0)	0.15%	37°15′32″N94°47′29″W / 37.25889°N 94.79139°W / 37.25889; -94.79139
Neosho	49725		306	2 (5)	157 (61)	2 (1)	1.08%	37°3′15″N95°1′37″W / 37.05417°N 95.02694°W / 37.05417; -95.02694
Pleasant View	56675		658	5 (13)	136 (52)	0 (0)	0.14%	37°17′4″N94°40′1″W / 37.28444°N 94.66694°W / 37.28444; -94.66694
Ross	61350		893	6 (17)	140 (54)	1 (0)	0.71%	37°16′29″N94°53′55″W / 37.27472°N 94.89861°W / 37.27472; -94.89861
Salamanca	62575		569	6 (17)	89 (34)	0 (0)	0.07%	37°10′3″N94°52′37″W / 37.16750°N 94.87694°W / 37.16750; -94.87694
Shawnee	64475		505	6 (15)	90 (35)	1 (0)	0.61%	37°9′30″N94°40′18″W / 37.15833°N 94.67167°W / 37.15833; -94.67167
Sheridan	64625		249	1 (4)	172 (67)	1 (1)	0.79%	37°15′41″N95°0′15″W / 37.26139°N 95.00417°W / 37.26139; -95.00417
Spring Valley	67725		1,007	8 (21)	122 (47)	0 (0)	0.36%	37°3′11″N94°46′5″W / 37.05306°N 94.76806°W / 37.05306; -94.76806
Sources: "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files". U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division. Archived from the original on August 2, 2002.

See also

• Kansas portal

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Cherokee County, Kansas

Community information for Kansas

• Kansas locations by per capita income
• List of counties in Kansas
• List of townships in Kansas
• List of cities in Kansas
• List of unincorporated communities in Kansas
• List of ghost towns in Kansas

References

1. "QuickFacts; Cherokee County, Kansas; Population, Census, 2020 & 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 15, 2021. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 9, 2015. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
4. National Atlas Archived December 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
5. U.S. Census Bureau TIGER shape files
6. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
7. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
8. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
9. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
10. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
11. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
12. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
13. "Map of Wet and Dry Counties" (PDF). Alcoholic Beverage Control, Kansas Department of Revenue. December 2012. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
14. "General Highway Map of Cherokee County, Kansas" (PDF). Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). May 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 1, 2024.
15. Rydjord, John (1972). Kansas Place-Names. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma. p. 494. ISBN   0-8061-0994-7.
16. Former residents say goodbye to contaminated town of Treece; The Wichita Eagle; September 27, 2012. Archived September 30, 2012, at the Wayback Machine

Notes

Further reading

See also: List of books about Kansas, including historical information about its counties and cities

• History of Cherokee County, Kansas; Biographical Publishing Co; 646 pages; 1904.
• Plat Book of Cherokee County, Kansas; Missouri Publishing Co; 35 pages; 1902.

External links

County

• Cherokee County - Official
• Cherokee County - Directory of Public Officials

Historical

• "Mined Lands" video

Maps

• Cherokee County Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
• Kansas Highway Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
• Kansas Railroad Maps: Current, 1996, 1915, KDOT and Kansas Historical Society