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Cherokee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of 2000, the population was 141,903. The county's explosive growth is evident with a population of 184,211 according to the 2005 U.S. Census Estimate. The county seat is Canton, Georgia6. This county is a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area.

History

Original territory

Originally, Cherokee County was more like a territory than a county, covering everything northwest of the Chattahoochee River and Chestatee River except for Carroll County. Several other counties were carved out of these Cherokee lands as part of the Cherokee Land Lottery of 1832. *

An act of the Georgia General Assembly passed on December 3rd of that year created the counties of Forsyth, Lumpkin, Union, Cobb, Gilmer, Murray, Cass (now Bartow), Floyd, and Paulding. * The forcible (sometimes at gunpoint) removal of the Cherokee people, leading up to the notorious Trail of Tears, began in this area the year before, later accelerated by the discovery of gold in local streams.

The first county seat was at Harnageville, originally called Marble Works. Since 1880 that town has been called Tate, and it is now (since 1853) in Pickens County. Part of that county was taken directly from Cherokee, the other via Gilmer (itself earlier taken from Cherokee).

Remaining county

In 1857, part of the southeastern corner of the county was ceded by the General Assembly to form Milton County. In the 1890s, The Atlanta & Knoxville Railroad (later renamed the Marietta & North Georgia Railroad when it could not be completed to Knoxville) built a branch line up through the middle of the county. When this line was bought by the Louisville & Nashville Railroad the following decade, the L&N built train depots at Woodstock and other towns.

Cherokee County is now becoming part of suburban Atlanta and is considered part of the Atlanta metro area. It is bisected by Interstate 575, which runs from Marietta north through Woodstock, Lebanon, Holly Springs, Canton, the county seat, and Ball Ground, ending at the Pickens County line into Georgia 515, the Appalachian Parkway developmental highway. The Georgia Northeastern Railroad also operates freight service on the former L&N tracks, roughly parallel to this route, and it could potentially serve commuter rail to Atlanta eventually. Population growth follows the same general pattern as well, with new suburbs in the south following the highway toward exurbs further north.

Like other similar counties, such rapid construction and consumption of land has strained the local ecology, as well as relations between developers and residents, even between the governments of the county and its cities. Impact fees, zoning decisions, and environmental damage have all be sources of contention, with some developers trying to circumvent the county laws by asking the cities for annexation.

Famous Citizens

  • Joseph E. Brown, who was elected governor of Georgia in 1857 and later served as U.S. Senator from Georgia. Brown's primary residence and law practice were in Canton, and he owned a farm believed to be near the Sutallee community.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,124 km² (434 mi²). 1,097 km² (424 mi²) of it is land and 27 km² (10 mi²) of it (2.38%) is water. much of which is Lake Allatoona in the southwest. The lake is fed by the Etowah and Little rivers (the county's primary waterways), and other large streams such as Noonday Creek. Much of the northern part of the county begins to rise toward the foothills, and most of it is in the Coosa River watershed.

Adjacent Counties

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 141,903 people, 49,495 households, and 39,200 families residing in the county. The population density was 129/km² (335/mi²). There were 51,937 housing units at an average density of 47/km² (123/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.41% White, 2.48% Black or African American, 0.38% Native American, 0.80% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.61% from other races, and 1.29% from two or more races. 5.42% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 49,495 households out of which 41.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.20% were married couples living together, 8.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.80% were non-families. 16.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the county the population was spread out with 28.30% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 35.80% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 6.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 100.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $60,896, and the median income for a family was $66,419. Males had a median income of $44,374 versus $31,036 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,871. About 3.50% of families and 5.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.50% of those under age 18 and 9.80% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and Towns

  • Ball Ground (north-northeast) - site of old gold mines along the Etowah River.
  • Canton (central; county seat) - Interstate 575 intersects with GA 140 and GA 20 here.
  • Holly Springs (just south of Canton) - east of Interstate 575.
  • Mountain Park (southeast) - mostly (about 80%) in Fulton County
  • Nelson (far north-northeastern) - mostly (about 60%) in Pickens County
  • Waleska (western) - home to Reinhardt College
  • Woodstock (south-central) - east of Interstate 575.

Unincorporated Communities

External links

Cherokee County, Georgia | Georgia counties

Cherokee County (Georgia) | Condado de Cherokee (Geórgia)

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Cherokee County, Georgia".

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