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Cherokee, the home of the first settlers in Cherokee
County, is located in the Little Sioux River Valley. In 1856, the
"Milford, Western Emigration Society" of Milford Massachusetts,
sent advance agents, Carlton Corbett and Lemuel Parkhurst into northwest
Iowa to select a suitable colony site. They met Robert Perry, first
resident of Cherokee County. Corbett and John Martin, not a member of the
society, proceeded to plot a site, now known as "Old Cherokee",
northeast of the present city. The first party of the "Milford
Colony" arrived on May 11, 1856 and build the first house, a log
structure, known as "Cherokee House".
The railroad depot location was not settled until August,
1870. There were not over ten houses in "New Cherokee" prior to
that time. Railroad to the east was completed July, 1870 near Storm Lake.
Magnetic water was discovered July 3, 1879. It is no longer in existence.
In 1873 Cherokee became an incorporated town. Another
railroad was secured in 1887 connecting Cherokee with Sioux Falls, South
Dakota, to the north. A later line connected several towns to the south.
In 1894, the Legislature selected Cherokee as the site for the new Mental
health Hospital (Now the Mental Health Institute).
Cherokee is situated in the heart of Northwest Iowa's rich
agricultural land on the Missouri side of the divide between the river and
Mississippi.
Ancient glaciers brought tremendous loads of slit and soil
down from the north spreading it over this region during several episodes.
The winds carried fine dust up out of the valleys to drop it on the
bordering hills and plains producing an even thicker rich blanket. This,
along with a plentiful rainfall, explains why this is one of the most
productive natural regions in the world.
The city of Cherokee is located on the slopes of the
Little Sioux River, the major stream of the county which contains numerous
creeks and springs.
The surrounding terrain is predominately level to rolling
except bordering the streams where wooded hills and ravines scattered with
glacial rocks of many hues produce some of Iowa's most beautiful scenery.
Cherokee's geographical position has important industrial
and commercial advantages because of the direct access to the sources of
raw material and proximity to major markets for the finished products.
The population of Cherokee is made of northern European
stock, approximately a third of Scandinavian ancestry; another third is
composed of German stock. The remaining third includes: English, Irish,
Canadian and those of European origins. Many of the latter group are
descendants of the earliest settlers who came as the "Milford
Colony" and includes many of Scottish origin with enough other
nationalities to make Cherokee a typical city of the United States, the
great "Melting Pot" of the world.
Friendliness is the predominate characteristic of the
people who compose the population of our areas. The heart and hand work
together to truly make Cherokee a good place in which to live.
Both Cherokee County (572 square miles) and it's county
seat were named for the important southern Indian Tribe of that name,
which comes from Chickasaw word, "Chuluk-ki" for "Cave
People".
The first town called Cherokee, later known as "Old
Cherokee", was founded in December 1857 just north of the present
county seat on the west side of the Little Sioux River. In February 1857,
a small band of Sioux Indians, led by Inkpaduta, terrorized the little
settlement for three days before going on to the Spirit Lake region. When
reports pf the Spirit Lake Massacre were later received in Cherokee, many
settlers deserted the village. Later a stockade enclosing a log blockhouse
was erected as a protection against the hostile Sioux Indians and settlers
became less fearful.
An election was held in the log house on George W.
Lebourvea in August 1857 to elect officers for Cherokee County. In 1861,
three men were appointed by the court to locate the county seat. Cherokee
was selected and taxes were voted (a six-mill levy) to build a courthouse.
This original courthouse was a frame building, 30 feet square, with
outside stairways to the second floor. The framework of the building,
located at 7th and Main Streets, was hewn from native black walnut logs.
Completed in 1864 at a cost of $1900.00 (Other sources say $2050.00), the
building also served as a public hall, schoolroom, and general
headquarters for all public gatherings. Before its completion, county
business was transacted in the private buildings of the county officials,
which was "Anything but Pleasant to both officers and
constituents".
When the Dubuque and Sioux Railroad came through the
county in March 1870, removal of the county seat to New Cherokee (About a
mile southwest of the original site) was approved by the voters in the
fall of 1871 and in January 1872, a committee was selected to move and
repair the courthouse. Cherokee County is thus one of the comparatively
few counties in Iowa to have avoided a long and continued county seat
contest, although feeble attempts were made by Aurelia in 1879 and Meriden
in 1885.
Although a new courthouse was thought necessary as early
as 1889, proposals to build a new courthouse at Cherokee were rejected at
elections held in 1881. It was not until 10 years later that the vote was
favorable and the building was erected. This large and impressive
courthouse was constructed of pressed brick, limestone, granite and slate.
An imposing position on a hill overlooking the business section of the
city was selected as the site for the 63 x 93' Building. Of the Romanesque
style of architecture, with clock tower, it cost the county at $40.000.00.
The original courthouse building was eventually torn down the winter of
1936-37.
In time, the courthouse completed in 1892, also reached a
state of deterioration and after turning down bond issues for a new
courthouse at two previous elections (June 6, 1960 and October 1963) 61.5%
of the voters (4,574 yes and 2,892 no) finally gave approval for a
$575,000.00 bond issue to replace the nearly three-quarters-of-a-century
old building on November 3, 1964.
The 1892 Courthouse was torn down early in 1965 (at a cost
of $7,690.00) and construction began on the new building, located on the
same site. The general contract was awarded to Paul Park Company, Storm
Lake, for $356,442.00. The total construction cost was $560,670.00. The
new courthouse dedicated October 16, 1966, is a modern, split-level
design.
-from the website of Cherokee County
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