Cherokee County, Alabama

Cherokee County, Alabama
Location in the state of Alabama
Alabama's location in the U.S.
Founded	January 9, 1836
Seat	Centre
Largest city	Centre
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	599.95 sq mi (1,554 km²) 553.12 sq mi (1,433 km²) 46.83 sq mi (121 km²), 7.81%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	25,989 47/sq mi (18/km²)

Cherokee County, Alabama is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is named for the Cherokee tribe. As of 2010 the population was 25,989. Its county seat is Centre and it is a prohibition or dry county.

History

Cherokee County was established by European Americans on January 9, 1836. The county was created on territory of the Cherokee Nation in the nineteenth century, which had encompassed an area of the southern Appalachians, including northeastern Alabama and parts of adjacent present-day Georgia, Tennessee, and North and South Carolina.^[1] The Cherokee were forceably removed by the US government in what was known as the Trail of Tears in 1838. Cherokee County was created by the Alabama legislature on 1836 January 9 following the Treaty of New Echota, 1835 December 29^[2] which was never accepted by the elected tribal leadership or a majority of the Cherokee people because it was signed by a group lacking the authority to sign any documents on behalf of the tribe and despite a tribal law forbiding anyone to sign such a treaty, see Treaty of New Echota.

An F4 tornado struck here on Palm Sunday March 27, 1994. It destroyed Goshen United Methodist Church twelve minutes after the National Weather Service of Birmingham issued a tornado warning for northern Calhoun, southeastern Etowah, and southern Cherokee counties.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 599.95 square miles (1,553.9 km²), of which 553.12 square miles (1,432.6 km²) (or 92.19%) is land and 46.83 square miles (121.3 km²) (or 7.81%) is water.^[3]

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 278
• U.S. Highway 411
• State Route 9
• State Route 35
• State Route 68

Adjacent counties

• DeKalb County, Alabama - north
• Chattooga County, Georgia - northeast
• Floyd County, Georgia - east
• Polk County, Georgia - southeast
• Cleburne County, Alabama - south
• Calhoun County, Alabama - south
• Etowah County, Alabama - west

National protected areas

• Little River Canyon National Preserve (part)
• Talladega National Forest (part)

Demographics

Cherokee County, Alabama
Year	Pop.	±%
1840	8,773	—
1850	13,884	+58.3%
1860	18,360	+32.2%
1870	11,132	−39.4%
1880	19,108	+71.6%
1890	20,459	+7.1%
1900	21,096	+3.1%
1910	20,226	−4.1%
1920	20,862	+3.1%
1930	20,219	−3.1%
1940	19,928	−1.4%
1950	17,634	−11.5%
1960	16,303	−7.5%
1970	15,606	−4.3%
1980	18,760	+20.2%
1990	19,543	+4.2%
2000	23,988	+22.7%
2010	25,989	+8.3%
Sources: "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml.  through 1960

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 23,988 people, 9,719 households, and 7,201 families residing in the county. The population density was 43 people per square mile (17/km²). There were 14,025 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.83% White, 5.54% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.35% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races. 0.85% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 9,719 households out of which 28.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.40% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.90% were non-families. 23.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the county the population was spread out with 22.20% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 27.60% from 25 to 44, 26.70% from 45 to 64, and 15.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,874, and the median income for a family was $36,920. Males had a median income of $29,978 versus $20,958 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,543. About 11.80% of families and 15.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.40% of those under age 18 and 14.90% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

• Cedar Bluff
• Centre (County seat)
• Collinsville (part - part of Collinsville is in DeKalb County)
• Gaylesville
• Leesburg
• Piedmont (part - part of Piedmont is in Calhoun County)
• Sand Rock (part - part of Sand Rock is in DeKalb County)

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Cherokee County, Alabama
• Properties on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in Cherokee County, Alabama

References

1. ^ "Cherokees in Alabama". Alabama Humanities Foundation and Auburn University. http://encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1087. Retrieved 2011-10-31. 
2. ^ "Alabama Counties: Cherokee County". Alabama Department of Archives and History. http://www.archives.state.al.us/counties/cherokee.html. Retrieved 2011-10-31. 
3. ^ "Census 2000 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Counties". United States Census. http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/county2k.txt. Retrieved 2011-02-13. 
4. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links

• Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce
• Cherokee County Historical Society
• Cherokee County Historical Museum

Coordinates: 34°10′11″N 85°35′39″W / 34.16972°N 85.59417°W / 34.16972; -85.59417