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Cherokee, Iowa

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Cherokee Township. It lies in ZIP code area 51012. It stands on Railroad Creek. The Survey maps it on the Cherokee South quadrangle. 5,199 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,194 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Cherokee within Cherokee County

On record in Cherokee

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 8 records

Population over time

2 figures

Cherokee fell from 5,253 to 5,199 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20105,253
20205,199-54 (-1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 9 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

27 since 2009

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 27 fires within 5 miles of Cherokee between 2009 and 2020, burning about 76 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning13
Missing data/not specified/undetermined7
Equipment and vehicle use4
Smoking2
Misuse of fire by a minor1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
18 September 2020Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
14 September 2020Debris and open burningunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
3 August 2020Debris and open burning1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
3 August 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
24 August 2020Debris and open burningunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
14 May 2013Smoking1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
4 April 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
28 April 2018Debris and open burning4.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Cherokee County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 29 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 29 workings within 5 miles of Cherokee: 20 past producers, 9 producers. 9 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Bugh PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Cherokee County Hwy DeptSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Cherokee PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Cherokee PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Corbett PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Ext Brewer PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Hyndman and FreemanSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Lundell ConstSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Maudlin Const CoSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Maudlin Const CoSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Cherokee County

Storms near this place

60 of 71 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cherokee in 71 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 37 hail, 16 thunderstorm wind, 10 flash flood, 4 heavy rain. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 1994HailCherokee$500,000no account filed
July 2010Thunderstorm WindCherokee$200,000Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree damage, including several large trees blown down. Several homes and businesses were damaged by falling trees, and other had shingle and other roof damage. Several vehicles were also damaged by falling trees and tree debris. A storage shed full of sports equipment at the high school was destroyed, with the equipment damaged. Signs and power lines were blown down, and a power outage resulted. A semi was blown over near town.
August 2002Flash FloodCherokee$200,000Heavy rain amounting to over four inches caused flooding of roads and basements. Maple creek rose out of its banks and up to the bottom of a bridge on Iowa Highway Seven.
July 1998Thunderstorm WindCherokee$100,000no account filed
June 1994HailCherokee$50,000no account filed
June 1994HailCherokee$50,000no account filed
July 2010Flash FloodCherokee$30,000Heavy rain caused flash flooding of numerous streets in the town of Cherokee. Basements and parkland were also flooded.
June 2003LightningCherokee$20,000Lightning caused a house fire which damaged the roof and ceiling of a home.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindCherokee$20,000Thunderstorm winds caused tree and power line damage, resulting in power outages. Several trees were blown completely down, including one which damaged the porch of a house.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindCherokee$10,000Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including large limbs blown down. The winds also blew down power lines.
September 2012Thunderstorm WindCherokee$10,000Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage and blew down power lines.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindCherokee$10,000no account filed
June 1994HailCherokee$5,000no account filed
August 2025Flash FloodCherokee-Pictures showed significant street flooding in lower areas on the southeast side of Cherokee.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindCherokee-Thunderstorm wind gusts brought several large limbs down. As a result of limbs coming down on powerlines around Cherokee, up to 1800 electrical customers were without power.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindCherokee-Thunderstorm winds downed several large tree branches in Cherokee.
August 2021Thunderstorm WindCherokee-Thunderstorm winds produced damage to large tree limbs.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindCherokee-Strong winds caused tree to split.
May 2016Heavy RainCherokee-Rainfall of 3.75 inches was measured.
June 2014Heavy RainCherokee-Thunderstorms produced rainfall of 2.15 inches.
June 2014Heavy RainCherokee-Rainfall of 3.70 inches was measured.
June 2014Heavy RainCherokee-Thunderstorms produced heavy rainfall of 4.08 inches.
May 2012HailCherokee-Hail covered the ground.
May 2012Flash FloodCherokee-Heavy rain caused flash flooding of rural fields and roads.
May 2012HailCherokee-Hail was accompanied by heavy rain.
April 2011HailCherokee-Large hail was estimated at 4 inches in diameter with one stone measured at 3.5 inches. The hail caused an unknown amount of damage to vehicles.
April 2011HailCherokee-Large hail caused an unknown amount of vehicle, siding, and roof damage.
July 2010Flash FloodCherokee-Heavy rain caused flash flooding of several roads in the town of Cherokee.
March 2009Thunderstorm WindCherokee-Thunderstorm winds blew over a semi truck.
May 2008HailCherokee-Large hail covered the ground.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindCherokee-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including several branches blown down.
June 2007Flash FloodCherokee-Heavy rain caused flooding of roads and fields.
June 2005Flash FloodCherokee-Heavy rain caused flooding of numerous streets and several basements.
August 2005HailCherokee-Large hail was accompanied by winds gusting to 50 mph.
September 2004Flash FloodCherokee-Rainfall of 4.5 inches caused flooding of streets.
July 2003Flash FloodCherokee-Heavy rains caused rapid flooding of city streets and low areas, including a park.
June 2003Flash FloodCherokee-Heavy rain caused the Little Sioux River to rise rapidly to just out of its banks. Other low areas including some roads were also flooded.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindCherokee-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including trees of unknown size blown down.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindCherokee-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including some trees down.
April 2025HailCherokee-no account filed
April 2025HailCherokee-no account filed
August 2025HailCherokee-no account filed
June 2019HailCherokee-no account filed
September 2019HailCherokee-no account filed
August 2018HailCherokee-no account filed
August 2018HailCherokee-no account filed
May 2012HailCherokee-no account filed
July 2011Thunderstorm WindCherokee-no account filed
June 2010Funnel CloudCherokee-no account filed
April 2006FloodCherokee-no account filed
August 2006Thunderstorm WindCherokee-no account filed
August 2005HailCherokee-no account filed
May 2004HailCherokee-no account filed
May 2004HailCherokee-no account filed
June 2004HailCherokee-no account filed
June 2004HailCherokee-no account filed
August 2004HailCherokee-no account filed
July 2003HailCherokee-no account filed
July 2003HailCherokee-no account filed
July 2003HailCherokee-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Cherokee County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Onawa Junction1.7 miles9
Meriden5.4 miles9
Aurelia6.6 miles9
Mary Hill7.3 miles9
Larrabee7.7 miles9
Quimby9.5 miles9
Cleghorn9.6 miles9
Fielding14.5 miles9

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on CherokeeAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q595297The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 455370. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.