Cherokee County, Texas

Cherokee County, Texas
The Cherokee County Courthouse in Rusk
Location in the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded	July 13, 1846
Named for	Cherokee people
Seat	Rusk
Largest city	Jacksonville
Area
• Total	1,062 sq mi (2,751 km2)
• Land	1,053 sq mi (2,727 km2)
• Water	9.3 sq mi (24 km2), 0.9%
Population
• (2010)	50,845
• Density	48/sq mi (19/km²)
Congressional district	5th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.cherokee.tx.us

Cherokee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 50,845 . The county seat is Rusk. The county was named for the Cherokee, who lived in the area before being expelled in 1839. Rusk, the county seat, is 130 miles southeast of Dallas and 160 miles north of Houston.

Cherokee County comprises the Jacksonville, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Tyler-Jacksonville, TX Combined Statistical Area.

The Hasinai group of the Caddo tribe built a village in the area about AD 800. 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 people began settling in the area circa 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 of the Cherokee and the Republic of Texas. On December 16, 1837, the Texas Senate declared the treaty null and void, and encroachment of Cherokee lands continued. On October 5, 1838, Indians massacred members of the Isaac Killough family at their farm northwest of the site of present Jacksonville, leading to the Cherokee War of 1839 and the expulsion of all Indians from the land which was to become the county of Cherokee.