Editing Cherokee, Oklahoma

{{Short description|City in Oklahoma, US}}
{{Distinguish|Cherokee County, Oklahoma}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name                     = Cherokee, Oklahoma
|settlement_type          = [[City]]

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = ALFALFA COUNTY COURTHOUSE.jpg
|image_caption            = Alfalfa County Courthouse in Cherokee (2007)
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
|image_map                = OKMap-doton-Cherokee.PNG
|map_caption              = Location within [[Oklahoma]]
|image_map1               = 
|map_caption1             = 
|pushpin_map = Oklahoma#USA

<!-- Location -->
|coordinates              = {{coord|36|45|02|N|98|21|28|W|region:US-OK_type:city_source:GNIS|display=inline,title}}
|coordinates_footnotes    = <ref name="USGS1"/>
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Oklahoma]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Oklahoma|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Alfalfa County, Oklahoma|Alfalfa]]

<!-- Government -->
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = 
|leader_name              = 
|established_title        = 
|established_date         =

<!-- Area -->
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="TigerWebMapServer">{{cite web|title=ArcGIS REST Services Directory|url=https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=September 20, 2022}}</ref>
|area_total_sq_mi         = 2.04
|area_land_sq_mi          = 2.04
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00
|area_total_km2           = 5.29
|area_land_km2            = 5.29
|area_water_km2           = 0.00
|unit_pref                = Imperial

<!-- Elevation -->
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name="USGS1"/>
|elevation_ft             = 1178

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 1476
|population_est           = 
|pop_est_as_of            = 
|pop_est_footnotes        = 
|population_density_sq_mi = 722.82
|population_density_km2   = 279.05

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
|utc_offset               = -6
|timezone_DST             = CDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -5
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 73728
|area_code_type           = [[North American Numbering Plan|Area code]]
|area_code                = [[Area code 580|580]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = {{FIPS|40|13750}} <ref name="USGS1"/><ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=2008-01-31 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] ID
|blank1_info              = 2409442<ref name="USGS1">{{GNIS|2409442}}</ref>
|website                  = 
}}

'''Cherokee''' is the largest city within, and [[county seat]] of, [[Alfalfa County, Oklahoma]], United States.<ref name="GR6">{{cite web |url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |access-date=2011-06-07 |title=Find a County |publisher=National Association of Counties |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509170006/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |archive-date=2015-05-09 }}</ref>  The population was 1,476 at the 2020 census, a decline of 1.5 percent from 2010.<ref name="DecennialCensus"/>

==History==

===Settlement and founding===
After the land opening of 1893, developers wanted to attract railroads to build through the former [[Cherokee Outlet]] to transport the large wheat crops to markets. The Kansas and Oklahoma Construction Company, through its subsidiary the Cherokee Investment Company, bought {{convert|100|acre|ha}} along its route, platted the town which it named Cherokee, and held a sale of lots on February 9, 1901. Cherokee officially incorporated in July 1901. Two years later, the [[Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railroad]] (later owned by the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway]]) constructed a line through Cherokee. To gain access to the railroad, residents of the nearby community of Erwin, which already had a post office by that name, relocated to Cherokee. Erwin then ceased to exist and Cherokee took its place. This post office was renamed "Cherokee" in March, 1903.<ref name= EOHC-Cherokee>{{cite web|last1=Everett|first1=Dianna|title=Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Cherokee|url= http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=CH015 
|website=Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture|publisher=Oklahoma History Center|access-date=May 9, 2016}}</ref>

By 1905, a second railroad, the [[Denver, Enid and Gulf Railroad|Denver, Enid, and Gulf]], built a line through the community. The community was soon transformed into a dominant regional center for agricultural services, banking, wholesale-retail trade, and transportation, providing markets and services to the surrounding smaller communities, such as [[Ingersoll, Oklahoma|Ingersoll]], [[Burlington, Oklahoma|Burlington]], [[Driftwood, Oklahoma|Driftwood]], [[Byron, Oklahoma|Byron]], and [[Amorita, Oklahoma|Amorita]]. The town grew around its twin railroad depots, and by 1909 Cherokee had three banks, three newspapers, three mills (flour, alfalfa, and planning), a concrete block plant, and a school desk factory. There were also Baptist, Catholic, Christian, Friends, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches.<ref name=EOHC-Cherokee/>

[[Alfalfa County, Oklahoma|Alfalfa County]] itself - named after Governor [[William H. Murray|'Alfalfa Bill' Murray]]<ref>[http://digital.library.okstate.edu/chronicles/v002/v002p075.html "Origin of County Names in Oklahoma." ''Chronicles of Oklahoma''. Volume 2, Number 1 (March 1924).] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814135738/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/chronicles/v002/v002p075.html |date=2017-08-14 }} Retrieved November 22, 2016.</ref> - was created at the time of statehood in 1907, when the state reorganized several counties out of part of what was once the much larger [[Woods County, Oklahoma|Woods County]]. Cherokee's status as the official county seat of Alfalfa County was confirmed in January 1909. The city's incorporation was reconfirmed in March of that same year.<ref name=EOHC-Cherokee/>

===Years of prosperity===
The Masonic hospital was relocated from nearby [[Aline, Oklahoma|Aline]] in 1918. A new high school building was completed in 1921. There were a variety of industries to provide employment, including: Cherokee Mills Company which produced flour, the McDowell Standard Battery Company's factory, an ice plant, and a planing mill. With a successful bond election, a new county courthouse was completed in 1924. The 1920s also saw a variety of other public projects, including street improvements and public water supply. In addition, oil-field activity within the county during the late 1920s and the mid-1930s contributed to the city's prosperity, with a half-dozen oil companies maintaining storage facilities near the railroad yards. At the onset of the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]], Cherokee had become "an important urban and trading center."<ref name=EOHC-Cherokee/>

Cherokee was better situated than most communities to weather the downturn of the depression. With its many hotels, including: The Hotel Cherokee, Hotel Henderson, the Ideal Hotel, Jobe's Hotel, and the Orient Hotel, the city's business owners worked hard to promote the town as a convention destination. They were successful in attracting a variety of organizations including the Oklahoma State Holiness Association, the [[Woman's Christian Temperance Union]], and the 4-H Clubs in 1933, the Baptist Association and the Tri-County Masonic Association in 1935, and the Oklahoma Press Association Regional Meeting and the Northwestern Oklahoma Baptist Association Annual Dinner in 1936.<ref name=EOHC-Cherokee/>

By 1936, the city boasted eleven gasoline stations, five automobile dealerships, five garages, plus three lumber yards. There were also four grain elevators in operation, plus an ice cream factory. In addition, Cherokee had nine restaurants, five groceries, two bakeries, two banks, two hardware stores, two department stores, as well as approximately two dozen other retail businesses. Two newspapers, the ''Alfalfa County News'' and the ''Cherokee Messenger'', informed the public.<ref name=EOHC-Cherokee/>

The [[Works Progress Administration]] (WPA) completed construction of a [[National Guard Armory]] in 1937, along with a public library in 1939. Its proximity to the Great Salt Plains area attracted sporting activities including bird-hunting excursions, which boosted the economy by bringing in hundreds of travelers.<ref name=EOHC-Cherokee/> Construction of a dam on the [[Salt Fork Arkansas River|Salt Fork of the Arkansas River]] begun in 1938 - completed in 1941 - would create the [[Great Salt Plains Lake]], making the area even more desirable as a hunting and tourism spot.<ref name="EOHC-GSPSP-NWR">{{cite web|last1=Hedglen|first1=Thomas L.|title=Great Salt Plains State Park and National Wildlife Refuge|url=http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=GR036|website='Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture|publisher=Oklahoma Historical Society|access-date=May 27, 2016|date=2009}}</ref>

===1950s onward===
The population of Cherokee would peak in 1950, at 2,635, according to the U.S. Census, and continue to trend downward at each enumeration from that decade onward.<ref name="DecennialCensus"/>  By 1970, 125 businesses remained operating in a city of 2,119 inhabitants. The county took over the operation of the former Masonic hospital in 1976. A new industrial park was established in that same decade. By 1990, the population had fallen to below 2000 - to 1,787 - for the first time since the city was recognized as the county seat. The Santa Fe Railroad maintained its trunk line running north–south through the mid-1990s, and the city's east–west line, by then part of the [[BNSF Railway|Burlington Northern Santa Fe]], ceased operations shortly thereafter.<ref name=EOHC-Cherokee/>

The city of Cherokee has a city manager form of government. It maintains three parks plus a swimming pool.<ref name=EOHC-Cherokee/>  Cherokee continues to be the home of one of three public school districts (in addition to Burlington and Timberlake) to educate the county's children.<ref name="CPS"/><ref name="EOHC-AlfalfaCo">{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Everett|first1=Dianna |entry=Alfalfa County |entry-url=http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=AL007 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture |publisher=Oklahoma Historical Society |access-date=May 27, 2016|date=2009}}</ref>  Cherokee has one high school. The school mascot is the Cherokee Chiefs.<ref name="CPS">{{cite web|title=Cherokee Chiefs - Home|url=http://cherokee.k12.ok.us/|website=Cherokee Public Schools|access-date=May 9, 2016}}</ref>

===National Register of Historic Places designations===
Cherokee is the home of several sites listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] (NRHP), including the [[Cherokee Friends Church]], constructed in 1919, and the [[Cherokee IOOF Lodge No. 219]], built in 1931. Other Cherokee sites listed with the NRHP are the Farmers' Federation Elevator (ca. 1917), the Alfalfa County Courthouse (ca. 1921), the Cherokee National Guard Armory (ca. 1936), and the Hotel Cherokee (ca. 1929) - which currently serves as the county history center.<ref name="NRHP">{{cite web|title=National Register of Historic Places|url=http://focus.nps.gov/nrhp/Download?path=/natreg/docs/All_Data.html|website=National Register Information System database download center (Cherokee, Oklahoma)|publisher=National Park Service U.S. Dept. of the Interior|access-date=May 5, 2016|archive-date=May 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160525191812/http://focus.nps.gov/nrhp/Download?path=%2Fnatreg%2Fdocs%2FAll_Data.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Geography==
Cherokee is located in northern Oklahoma, along [[U.S. Route 64 in Oklahoma|U.S. Highway 64]]/[[State Highway 8 (Oklahoma)|State Highway 8]].<ref name="odot 2009-10 map">{{cite map|publisher=Oklahoma Department of Transportation|title=Oklahoma 2009-2010 Official State Map|edition=2009-2010|url=http://www.odot.org/hqdiv/p-r-div/maps/state-maps/2009state/pdfs/state-map.pdf|access-date=August 31, 2016}}</ref>   According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|1.473|sqmi|km2}}, all land.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2010_place_list_40.txt|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=May 11, 2016| date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990 (Oklahoma)}}</ref>

The [[Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge]] is located a few miles southeast of Cherokee.<ref name="odot 2009-10 map"/>  The salt plains are known for their unique hour-glass [[Selenite (mineral)|selenite]] crystals.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Salt_Plains/about/selenite.html|title=Salt Plains - Selenite Crystals|publisher=U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service|access-date=May 9, 2016}}</ref>

On 11 July 1909, at 3:00 in the morning, a [[heat burst]] south of Cherokee reportedly caused the temperature to rise briefly to {{convert|136|°F|°C|1}}, desiccating crops in the area.<ref>Isaac M. Cline, ''Climatological Data for July, 1909: District No. 7. Lower Mississippi Valley'', p 337-338; http://ams.allenpress.com/perlserv/?request=get-toc&issn=1520-0493&volume=37&issue=7 ''Monthly Weather Review'' July 1909</ref>

===Climate===
Cherokee has a [[humid subtropical climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''Cfa'') with influences from a [[cool semi-arid climate]] (''BSk'')
<div style="width:75%;">
{{Weather box
| location = Cherokee, Oklahoma
| single line = Y
| Jan record high F = 86
| Feb record high F = 91
| Mar record high F = 96
| Apr record high F = 100
| May record high F = 105
| Jun record high F = 115
| Jul record high F = 117
| Aug record high F = 117
| Sep record high F = 111
| Oct record high F = 101
| Nov record high F = 90
| Dec record high F = 85
| year record high F = 
| Jan high F = 47.1
| Feb high F = 52.7
| Mar high F = 62.8
| Apr high F = 72.6
| May high F = 81.3
| Jun high F = 91.1
| Jul high F = 96.7
| Aug high F = 95.8
| Sep high F = 86.9
| Oct high F = 75.8
| Nov high F = 60.3
| Dec high F = 49.4
| year high F = 72.7
| Jan low F = 22.7
| Feb low F = 26.9
| Mar low F = 35.2
| Apr low F = 45.0
| May low F = 55.4
| Jun low F = 65.3
| Jul low F = 70.2
| Aug low F = 69.3
| Sep low F = 60.5
| Oct low F = 48.2
| Nov low F = 34.8
| Dec low F = 25.7
| year low F = 46.6
| Jan record low F = -15
| Feb record low F = -15
| Mar record low F = -1
| Apr record low F = 13
| May record low F = 30
| Jun record low F = 36
| Jul record low F = 50
| Aug record low F = 45
| Sep record low F = 30
| Oct record low F = 12
| Nov record low F = 6
| Dec record low F = -12
| year record low F = -15
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation inch = 0.90
| Feb precipitation inch = 1.11
| Mar precipitation inch = 2.15
| Apr precipitation inch = 2.74
| May precipitation inch = 4.08
| Jun precipitation inch = 4.08
| Jul precipitation inch = 2.48
| Aug precipitation inch = 2.95
| Sep precipitation inch = 2.56
| Oct precipitation inch = 1.29
| Nov precipitation inch = 1.49
| Dec precipitation inch = 1.12
| Jan snow inch = 2.4
| Feb snow inch = 3.2
| Mar snow inch = 1.7
| Apr snow inch = 0.1
| May snow inch = 0.0
| Jun snow inch = 0.0
| Jul snow inch = 0.0
| Aug snow inch = 0.0
| Sep snow inch = 0.0
| Oct snow inch = 0.0
| Nov snow inch = 0.8
| Dec snow inch = 2.7
| unit precipitation days = 0.01 inch
| Jan precipitation days = 3
| Feb precipitation days = 4
| Mar precipitation days = 5
| Apr precipitation days = 6
| May precipitation days = 7
| Jun precipitation days = 7
| Jul precipitation days = 5
| Aug precipitation days = 6
| Sep precipitation days = 5
| Oct precipitation days = 5
| Nov precipitation days = 3
| Dec precipitation days = 3
| year precipitation days = 58
| source 1 = Western Regional Climate Center <ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ok1724 |publisher=Western Regional Climate Center |title = CHEROKEE, OKLAHOMA (341724)}}</ref>
| date = May 4, 2016
| source = 
}}
</div>

Please note: Many temperatures claiming to be above {{convert|56.7|°C|°F|abbr=on}} are ''unverifiable claims'' due to ''improper equipment at site to confirm'' during the event. The hottest verifiable temperature ever recorded for the state of Oklahoma is {{convert|48.8|°C|°F|abbr=on}} <ref>{{cite web | url=https://climate.ok.gov/index.php/site/page/state_records | title=Oklahoma Climatological Survey }}</ref> The world's hottest verifiable temperature remains {{convert|56.7|°C|°F|abbr=on}}, recorded on 10 July 1913 at [[Oasis at Death Valley|Furnace Creek Ranch]], in [[Death Valley]] in the [[United States]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://wmo.asu.edu/content/world-highest-temperature | title=World Meteorological Organization's World Weather & Climate Extremes Archive }}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1910= 2016
|1920= 2017
|1930= 2236
|1940= 2553
|1950= 2635
|1960= 2410
|1970= 2119
|1980= 2105
|1990= 1787
|2000= 1630
|2010= 1498
|2020= 1476
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}

===2000===
As of the [[census]] of 2000, there were 1,630 people, 709 households, and 450 families residing in the city.<ref name="GR2"/> The [[population density]] was {{convert|1,113.9|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people&nbsp;|people}}. There were 853 housing units at an average density of {{convert|582.9|/mi2|/km2}}. The racial makeup of the city was 95.52% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.12% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 1.72% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 1.47% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.17% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 3.74% of the population.

There were 709 households, out of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.7% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.93.<ref name="GR2"/>

In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.6% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 23.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.<ref name="GR2"/>

The median income for a household in the city was $29,010, and the median income for a family was $34,934. Males had a median income of $25,263 versus $16,759 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $16,163. About 10.5% of families and 13.7% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 20.6% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.<ref name="GR2"/>

===2010===
As of 2010, the Census Bureau reported 1,498 people, 647 households and 396 family households in the city. 93.6% of its population was white, 2.8% was American Indian and Alaska Native, while 0.7% were black/African American. 49.9% were male and 50.1% were female. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.88 persons. The percent of the population 18 years and older was 77.4%, or 1160 persons, while 20.9%, or 313 persons, were 65 years and older. The median age was 44.3 years.<ref name="Census2010DP1">{{cite web| url= http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/SF1DP1/1600000US4013750| title= Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 (DP-1): Cherokee City, Oklahoma| publisher= U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| access-date= May 11, 2016| archive-url= https://archive.today/20200213114839/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/SF1DP1/1600000US4013750| archive-date= February 13, 2020| url-status= dead}}</ref>

==Economy==
Cherokee is primarily a farming community, although historically, oil field activity has also played a significant role in the city's prosperity.<ref name=EOHC-Cherokee/>

==See also==
{{Portal|Oklahoma}}
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Alfalfa County, Oklahoma]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://cherokee.k12.ok.us/ Cherokee Public Schools]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100721004449/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/C/CH015.html Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Cherokee (Town)]

{{Alfalfa County, Oklahoma}}
{{Oklahoma county seats}}
{{Oklahoma}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Alfalfa County, Oklahoma]]
[[Category:Cities in Oklahoma]]
[[Category:County seats in Oklahoma]]