Cherokee County, Texas

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[4][5] 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[6] of the Cherokee and the Republic of Texas.[7][8] On December 16, 1837, the Texas Senate declared the treaty null and void,[9] and encroachment upon Cherokee lands continued. On October 5, 1838, Indians massacred members of the Isaac Killough family[10][11] 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.

Domingo Terán de los Ríos[12] and Father Damián Massanet[13] explored the area on behalf of Spain in 1691. Louis Juchereau de St. Denis[14] began trading with the Hasinais in 1705. Nuestro Padre San Francisco de los Tejas[15] 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.[16] 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.

Cherokee Veterans Monument in Jacksonville, Texas

Cherokee County was formed from land given by Nacogdoches County in 1846.[17] 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 Civil War.

In 1872, the International – Great Northern Railroad[18] caused Jacksonville[19] to relocate two miles east, to be near the tracks. The Kansas and Gulf Short Line Railway[20] was built north-to-south through the county between 1882 and 1885. The Texas and New Orleans Railroad[21] in 1905, and the Texas State Railroad[22] in 1910, each gave rise to new county towns along their tracks.

• U.S. Highway 69
• U.S. Highway 79
• U.S. Highway 84
• U.S. Highway 175
• State Highway 21
• State Highway 110
• State Highway 135
• State Highway 204
• State Highway 294

• Smith County (north)
• Rusk County (northeast, east)
• Nacogdoches County (east, southeast)
• Angelina County (southeast)
• Houston County (southwest)
• Anderson County (west)
• Henderson County (northwest)

• Neches River National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

As of the census[28] of 2000, 46,659 people, 16,651 households, and 12,105 families resided in the county. The population density was 44 people per square mile (17/km²). The 19,173 housing units averaged 18 per square mile (7/km²). The racial 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.

Of the 16,651 households, 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 the county, the population was distributed as 26.30% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.00 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 99.00 males.

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.

• Alto
• Bullard (mostly in Smith County)
• Cuney
• Wells

• Shadybrook

• Etna
• Knoxville
• Larissa
• Lone Star
• Nebo
• New Birmingham