Cherokee County, Georgia

Cherokee County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 141,903. The 2006 Census Estimate placed the population at 195,327. The is.

Cherokee County is included in the --.

Original territory
Originally, Cherokee County was more like a than a county, covering everything northwest of the  and  except for. This county was created December 26, 1831 by the state legislature. It was named after the Cherokee Indians who lived in the area at that time. Several other counties were carved out of these lands as part of the  of. 

An act of the passed on rd of that year created the counties of, , , , , ,  (now ), , and. The forcible (sometimes at ) removal of the Cherokee people, leading up to the notorious, began in this area the year before, later accelerated by the discovery of in local streams.

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

Remaining county
In, part of the southeastern corner of the county was d by the General Assembly to form (now the city of  in the county of Fulton.  In the , The  (later renamed the  when it could not be completed to ) built a  up through the middle of the county.  When this line was bought by the  the following , the L&N built s at Woodstock and other towns.

Famous citizens

 * , 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, and he owned a farm believed to be near the  community.
 * , U.S. Secretary of State was born in Cherokee County.
 * Robert Rechsteiner, also known as, ex-professional wrestler who is now a part of the for the county.  He also sells homes in the county as a real estate agent.
 * , actor and model, most famous for his role as on .  He attended  in.

Development
Cherokee County is now a part of the. It is bisected by, which runs from north through , , , , the county seat, and , ending at the  line into , the. The also operates freight service on the former L&N tracks, roughly parallel to this route, and it could potentially serve commuter rail to  eventually. Population growth follows the same general pattern as well, with new suburbs in the south following the highway toward exurbs further north.

As in 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 been sources of contention, with some developers trying to circumvent the county laws by asking the cities for annexation.

One situation occurring in the county is the fact that at least two of its cities (Canton and Holly Springs) annex alongside roads for new subdivisions, but do not annex the roads themselves. This can be seen by the many subdivisions which have city limits signs right at their entrances from main roads. This means that the cities take the new tax revenue, but leave the county with the burden which the developments create on the roads.

There has also been a highly contentious issue with annexation by the city of Holly Springs eastward toward the community of Hickory Flat. The county land-use plan called for low-density in that area, as the residents wanted it, however it was learned in that the city was considering ignoring this and taking it in order to allow a new. In October 2007, the county lost a lawsuit against the city that claimed the previous annexation of 21 parcels (including the huge project in 2003) were illegal, therefore making impossible any attempt to take Hickory Flat (as it would be discontiguous).

Another recent issue is the contention between the school board and the county commission. In 2007, the commission voted to refuse to pay for road improvements at new public schools, saying it was the board's responsibility. The board shot back, noting that the only reason the schools were needed was because the commission kept approving new housing developments.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,124 (434 ). 1,097 km² (424 sq mi) of it is land and 27 km² (10 sq mi) of it (2.38%) is water. much of which is in the southwest. The is fed by the  and  s (the county's primary waterways), and other large s such as. Much of the northern part of the county begins to rise toward the, and most of it is in the.

Mountains
There are nine s listed by the  as being in the county. From tallest to lowest, they are:


 * 1) - 2297 ft - 34°18'48N, 84°38'53"W
 * 2) - 2260 ft - 34°19'15"N, 84°38'29"W
 * 3) - 1686 ft - 34°22'56"N, 84°33'51"W
 * 4) - 1644 ft - 34°22'29"N, 84°33'23"W
 * 5) - 1545 ft - 34°17'05"N, 84°30'10"W
 * 6) - 1503 ft - 34°16'27"N, 84°31'31"W
 * 7) - 1358 ft - 34°17'16"N, 84°31'04"W
 * 8) - 1348 ft - 34°21'48"N, 84°35'52"W
 * 9) - 1306 ft - 34°24'35"N, 084°36'40"

These mountains are in the still-rural northern and western parts of the county. However, if considered part of metro Atlanta, Bear Mountain is the tallest in the metro area.

Highways

 * [[Image:I-75.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:I-575.svg|25px]]
 * [[Image:Georgia 5.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Georgia 5 Business.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Georgia 5 Connector.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Georgia 20.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Georgia 92.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Georgia 108.svg|25px]]
 * [[Image:Georgia 140.svg|25px]]
 * [[Image:Georgia 369.svg|25px]]
 * [[Image:Georgia 372.svg|25px]]

Major roads

 * Road (former )
 * East Cherokee Drive
 * Parkway
 * Road
 * Road
 * Upper and Lower Burris Road
 * Road
 * Road
 * Road
 * Canton Highway (former Georgia 5)
 * Highway (former Georgia 5)
 * Ball Ground Highway (former Georgia 5)
 * Old Marietta Road (former Georgia 20)
 * Hickory Flat Road (Georgia 140)

Adjacent counties

 * - north
 * - northeast
 * - east
 * (former Milton part) - southeast
 * - south
 * - west
 * - extreme northwest

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 141,903 people, 49,495 households, and 39,200 families residing in the county. The was 129/km² (335/sq mi). There were 51,937 housing units at an average density of 47/km² (123/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 92.41%, 2.48% or , 0.38% , 0.80% , 0.03% , 2.61% from , and 1.29% from two or more races. 5.42% of the population were or  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 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 for the county was $24,871. About 3.50% of families and 5.30% of the population were below the, including 5.50% of those under age 18 and 9.80% of those age 65 or over.

Incorporated cities

 * (north-northeast) - site of old gold mines along the Etowah River
 * (central; county seat) - Interstate 575 intersects with Georgia 140/20/5 here.
 * (just south of Canton) - east of Interstate 575
 * (southeast) - mostly (about 80%) in Fulton County
 * (far north-northeastern) - mostly (about 60%) in Pickens County
 * (western) - home to
 * (south-central) - east of Interstate 575.

Unincorporated communities

 * (eastern Cherokee)
 * (southeast Cherokee)
 * (east of Canton)
 * (north of Canton)
 * (northeast Cherokee)
 * (eastern Cherokee)
 * (southwest of Canton)
 * (northwest Cherokee)
 * (east of Holly Springs)
 * (northeast of Canton)
 * (southwest of Waleska)
 * (eastern Cherokee)
 * / (south of Holly Springs)
 * (eastern Cherokee)
 * (northeast Cherokee)
 * (southwest Cherokee)
 * (eastern Cherokee)
 * (east Cherokee)
 * (northwest Cherokee)
 * (northern Cherokee)
 * (west of Holly Springs)
 * (western Cherokee)
 * (west of Woodstock)
 * (eastern Cherokee)
 * (south of Canton)
 * (southwest Cherokee)

Local Newspapers

 * The Cherokee Ledger-News
 * HomeTownCherokee.com - Cherokee's Online News & Community Publication