Cherokee County, South Carolina

Cherokee County is a located in the of. The was formed in 1897 from parts of, , and  Counties. It is included in the Gaffney, South Carolina. In 2000, the county's population was 52,537; in 2005 the estimated its population to have reached 53,844. The is.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,029 (397 ). 1,017 km² (393 sq mi) of it is land and 12 km² (5 sq mi) of it (1.16%) is water.

Adjacent Counties

 * - north
 * - east
 * - south
 * - west
 * - northwest

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 52,537 people, 20,495 households, and 14,612 families residing in the county. The was 52/km² (134/sq mi). There were 22,400 housing units at an average density of 22/km² (57/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 76.92%, 20.56% or , 0.20% , 0.31% , 0.02% , 1.16% from , and 0.84% from two or more races. 2.08% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 20,495 households out of which 32.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.30% were living together, 15.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.70% were non-families. 25.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the county, the population was spread out with 25.80% under the age of 18, 9.00% from 18 to 24, 29.60% from 25 to 44, 23.20% from 45 to 64, and 12.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 93.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,787, and the median income for a family was $39,393. Males had a median income of $30,984 versus $21,298 for females. The for the county was $16,421. About 11.00% of families and 13.90% of the population were below the, including 16.90% of those under age 18 and 15.20% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation
The lifeline of Cherokee County, runs through the city limits of Gaffney, contributing to much of the growth along Floyd Baker Blvd, the county's main thoroughfare, which bisects. Much of the county's growth occurs along.

One of the nation's busiest airports, is located in nearby  45 minutes away. For regional and national air travel Greenville-Spartanburg Airport is located in.

A study to determine the feasibilty of building an airport in the county revealed that an airport is desperately needed in the county. Studies are now in the process of determing the structure of the airport and where it should be built.

The county is also served by which parallels  and is mostly used for local traffic. also serves as a major road in the downtown area of. Several of the major highways that serve the county are:

, SC Highway 150, SC Highway 105, SC Highway 18, and SC Highway 5 serves the area

Entertainment
Cherokee County is the only county to have three national parks within its boundaries: Overmountain Victory Trail, this trail follows the path of major victories of American troops during the Revolutionary War, and spans South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee, Kings Mountain National Military Park, and Cowpens National Battlefield. Other historic homes dot the landscape of Cherokee County and while many of them are not open to the public several annual tours take place to display these beautiful and historic homes.

Gaffney Little Theatre and serve theatre enthusiasts, offering plays and musicals ten to twelve times a year.

A major shopping center is Prime Outlets-Gaffney, which attracts almost 3,000,000 visitors per year, and contains over 80 retail outlets. Floyd Baker Boulevard is one of the fastest-growing commercial areas in Cherokee County, with a traffic count of almost 40,000 cars per day and a large number of stores and restaurants. Uptown Gaffney offers many upscale boutiques, shops, cafes, and pubs.

One of the newest entertainment-oriented developments to take place in the county is the opening of a large entertainment facility. Known as Starmax Gaffney the facility contains eight state of the art movie theaters, 16-lane bowling alley, two large arcades, and a sports bar.

Nuclear power plant
On March 16, 2006 announced that a Cherokee County site had been selected for a potential new. The site is jointly owned by Duke Power and. Duke plans to develop the site for two  (advanced passive) s.  Each reactor is capable of producing approximately 1,117 megawatts. (See .)

This site will be adjacent to the old site, which was never completed and ultimately abandoned. It was used by as a set for the 1989 film .