Cherokee

Cherokee, city, seat (1861) of Cherokee county, northwestern Iowa, U.S., on the Little Sioux River, about 50 miles (80 km) east-northeast of Sioux City. A colony from Milford, Massachusetts, settled a site north of the present city in 1856. Sioux attacked the settlement the following year (in what became known as the Spirit Lake Massacre), causing many residents to flee. The community was moved to its present location in 1870 to be closer to the newly built railroad.

Cherokee is now a trading and shipping centre for one of the state’s largest cattle-feeding and hog-raising areas. The diversified economy also includes manufacturing (farm implements and truck bodies) and meatpacking and food distribution. The Sanford Museum and Planetarium (1951) has a variety of exhibits relating to northwestern Iowa. Western Iowa Tech Community College (1966) has a branch campus there. Nearby are Mill Creek (northwest) and Wanata (northeast) state parks. Inc. 1873. Pop. (2000) 5,369; (2010) 5,253.