Cherokee County, Texas

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Cherokee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 50,412.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The county seat is Rusk, which lies 130 miles southeast of Dallas and 160 miles north of Houston.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> The county was named for the Cherokee, who lived in the area before being expelled in 1839. Cherokee County comprises the Jacksonville micropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the Tyler–Jacksonville combined statistical area.

History

Native Americans

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Caddo Mounds at the Caddo Mounds State Historic Site in Cherokee County

The Hasinai group of the Caddo tribe built a village in the area in around AD 800<ref>Template:Handbook of Texas Texas State Historical Association</ref><ref>Template:Cite web Texas State Historical Association</ref> and continued to live in the area until the 1830s, when they migrated to the Brazos River. The federal government moved them to the Brazos Indian Reservation in 1855 and later to Oklahoma.

The Cherokee, Delaware, Shawnee, 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, adopted son of Chief Oolooteka (John Jolly) of the Cherokee, negotiated the January 14, 1836, treaty between Chief Bowl<ref>Template:Cite web The Sam Houston Memorial Museum</ref> of the Cherokee and the Republic of Texas.<ref>Template:Cite web R. Edward Moore and Texarch Associates</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On December 16, 1837, the Texas Senate declared the treaty null and void,<ref>Template:Handbook of Texas Texas State Historical Association</ref> and encroachment upon Cherokee lands continued. On October 5, 1838, Indians massacred members of the Isaac Killough family<ref>Template:Handbook of Texas Texas State Historical Association</ref><ref>Template:Cite web Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC.</ref> at their farm northwest of the site of present Jacksonville, leading to the Cherokee War of 1839 and the expulsion of some to Oklahoma. Some went to Monclova in Mexico, and some to Rusk and Gregg counties (many had relatives among the Choctaw/Chickasaw/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<ref>Template:Handbook of Texas Texas State Historical Association</ref> and Father Damián Massanet<ref>Template:Handbook of Texas Texas State Historical Association</ref> explored the area on behalf of Spain in 1691. Louis Juchereau de St. Denis<ref>Template:Handbook of Texas Texas State Historical Association</ref> began trading with the Hasinais in 1705. Nuestro Padre San Francisco de los Tejas<ref>Template:Handbook of Texas Texas State Historical Association</ref> 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 legislature to settle 300 families.<ref>Template:Cite web Wallace L. McKeehan,</ref> 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

File:Cherokee County Veterans Monument, Jacksonville, TX IMG 3005.JPG

Cherokee Veterans Monument in Jacksonville, Texas

Cherokee County was formed from land given by Nacogdoches County in 1846.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It was organized in the same year. The town of Rusk became the county seat. Cherokee County voted in favor of secession from the Union, during the build-up to the American Civil War.

In 1872, the International – Great Northern Railroad<ref>Template:Handbook of Texas Texas State Historical Association</ref> caused Jacksonville<ref>Template:Cite web Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC.</ref> to relocate two miles east, to be near the tracks. The Kansas and Gulf Short Line Railway<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> was built north-to-south through the county between 1882 and 1885. The Texas and New Orleans Railroad<ref>Template:Handbook of Texas Texas State Historical Association</ref> in 1905, and the Texas State Railroad<ref>Template:Handbook of Texas Texas State Historical Association</ref> in 1910, each gave rise to new county towns along their tracks.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (0.9%) is covered by water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Major highways

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

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Gallatin
Jacksonville
New Summerfield
Reklaw (partly in Rusk County)
Rusk (county seat)
Troup (mostly in Smith County)

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Towns

Demographics

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**Cherokee County, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition**
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Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Partial<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	% 2000	% 2010	Template:Partial
White alone (NH)	32,347	31,892	30,095	69.33%	62.72%	59.70%
Black or African American alone (NH)	7,409	7,401	6,359	15.88%	14.56%	12.61%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	143	125	128	0.31%	0.25%	0.25%
Asian alone (NH)	177	221	263	0.38%	0.43%	0.52%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	8	6	18	0.02%	0.01%	0.04%
Other Race alone (NH)	17	36	123	0.04%	0.07%	0.24%
Mixed Race or Multiracial (NH)	380	665	1,629	0.81%	1.31%	3.23%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	6,178	10,499	11,797	13.24%	20.65%	23.40%
Total	46,659	50,845	50,412	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

At the 2000 United States census there were 46,659 people, 16,651 households, and 12,105 families resided in the county.<ref name="GR8">Template:Cite web</ref> The population density was Template:Convert. The 19,173 housing units averaged Template:Convert. The racial and ethnic makeup of the county was 74.34% White, 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.<ref name="2020CensusP2" /> The racial and ethnic makeup at the 2020 United States census was 59.70% non-Hispanic white, 12.61% Black or African American, 0.25% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.52% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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, there were 18,540 households with an average household size of 2.65 and average family size of 3.07.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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 for the county was $13,980. About 13.70% of families and 17.90% of the population were below the poverty line, 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Media

Cherokee County is part of the Tyler/Longview/Jacksonville 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:

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.<ref>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..</ref> Legislation does not specify a community college for the remainder of the county.

Politics

References

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External links

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