- Cherokee, Iowa
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Cherokee, Iowa — City — Location of Cherokee, Iowa
Coordinates: 42°45′N 95°33′W / 42.75°N 95.55°WCoordinates: 42°45′N 95°33′W / 42.75°N 95.55°W Country 
United StatesState 
IowaCounty Cherokee Area - Total 6.4 sq mi (16.7 km2) - Land 6.4 sq mi (16.6 km2) - Water 0.0 sq mi (0.1 km2) Elevation 1,194 ft (364 m) Population (2000) - Total 5,369 - Density 837.8/sq mi (323.5/km2) Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6) - Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5) ZIP code 51012 Area code(s) 712 FIPS code 19-13080 GNIS feature ID 0455370 Cherokee is a city in Cherokee County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,932 at the 2010 Census, up from 5,369 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Cherokee County.[1] Cherokee is also the home of the Cherokee Mental Health Institute, under the Iowa Department of Human Services. The nearby Cherokee Sewer Site is a well-preserved prehistoric Indian bison-processing site, which helped to redefine the Archaic period in the Midwest, and the Phipps Site is a National Historic Landmark 1000-year-old Plains farming village that may have been fortified.
Contents
Geography
Cherokee is located at 42°45′03″N 95°33′02″W / 42.750818°N 95.550472°W.[2] It is situated near the Little Sioux River.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.4 square miles (17 km2), of which, 6.4 square miles (17 km2) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) of it (0.31%) is water.
Demographics
Cherokee
Historical PopulationYear Pop. ±% 1870 438 — 1880 1,523 +247.7% 1890 3,441 +125.9% 1900 3,865 +12.3% 1910 4,884 +26.4% 1920 5,824 +19.2% 1930 6,443 +10.6% 1940 7,469 +15.9% 1950 7,705 +3.2% 1960 7,724 +0.2% 1970 7,272 −5.9% 1980 7,004 −3.7% 1990 6,026 −14.0% 2000 5,369 −10.9% Source: "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 5,369 people, 2,362 households, and 1,393 families residing in the city. The population density was 837.8 people per square mile (323.4/km²). There were 2,556 housing units at an average density of 398.9 per square mile (154.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.5% White, 0.54% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.54% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.51% of the population.
There were 2,362 households out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.3% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.0% were non-families. 37.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.82.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 21.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,240, and the median income for a family was $42,333. Males had a median income of $28,350 versus $21,333 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,846. About 5.0% of families and 7.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.5% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.
Arts and culture
Annual events
The annual Jazz Festival is held in January, often headlined by Mark Pender a member of the The Max Weinberg 7's band.[4][5]
The Cherokee County Fair, and the Cherokee Rodeo are held in the summer.[5]
Museums
Cherokee is the home of the Sanford Museum and Planetarium that opened in 1951. The intent of the founders, Mr & Mrs W.A. Sanford, was to create a museum that was free and open to the public. The facility is currently (January 2011)[ref] still operated free to the public and has exhibits and activities on a variety of subjects including: archaeology, art, astronomy, geology, history, natural history, and paleontology.[5]
Cherokee may be the smallest town in the world to have its own symphony orchestra, the Cherokee Symphony. This 60-member orchestra has been referred to as "the best kept secret in Northwest Iowa".[5]
Notable people
- Adam Timmerman, former NFL lineman and Super Bowl champion for the St. Louis Rams and Green Bay Packers
- Guy M. Gillette, House of Representatives 1930–36, US Senate 1936–45
- Roger Goeb (1914–1997), composer
- Gen. John D. Ryan, US Air Force Chief of Staff, 1969–71
- Ben F. Laposky, artist and mathematician
- Ken Nordine, voiceover
- Doug Ohlson (1936–2010), abstract artist.[6]
- Laurence Rickels, famous theorist and philosopher, notable for his studies on vampires, the devil, technology and science fiction
References
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ http://www.cherokeejazzbluesfestival.com/Home.html[dead link]
- ^ a b c d "Activities & Recreation". Cherokee Iowa Chamber of Commerce. http://www.cherokeeiowachamber.com/activites.htm. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
- ^ Smith, Roberta. "Doug Ohlson, Painter of Vivid Abstracts, Dies at 73", The New York Times, July 23, 2010. Accessed July 24, 2010.
External links
- Official Cherokee city website
- City Data — comprehensive statistical data, etc., about Cherokee
Municipalities and communities of Cherokee County, Iowa County seat: Cherokee Cities 
Townships Categories:- Populated places in Cherokee County, Iowa
- Cities in Iowa
- County seats in Iowa
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