Cherokee County, Kansas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cherokee County
County
Tri-State Marker (2006)
Location within the U.S. state of Kansas
Kansas's location within the U.S.
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)
• 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

Cherokee County is a U.S. county located in Southeast Kansas. Its county seat 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 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.

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, U.S. Census Bureau

Demographics

Population pyramid based on 2000 census age data

As of the 2000 census, 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.

Education

Unified school districts

School districts based in the county include:

• Southeast USD 247 (a.k.a. Cherokee USD 247)
• Riverton USD 404 [1]
• Columbus USD 493 [2]
• Galena USD 499 [3]
• Baxter Springs USD 508 [4]

Other school districts include:

• Chetopa-St. Paul USD 505
• Oswego USD 504
• Pittsburg USD 250

Communities

2005 map of Cherokee County (map legend)

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

Cities

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.

Ghost towns

• Treece, officially disincorporated in 2012

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.

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Cherokee (Kansas) para niños