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Welcome to Cherokee ...

The town of Cherokee is located in Colbert County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Cherokee, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1856.

When the people of Cherokee refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Cherokeean<2>

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Cherokee has a population of 1,004 people<3> (see below for details).

Cherokee is 510 feet [155 m] above sea level.<4>.

Time Zone: Cherokee lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for Cherokee: 256 & 938<5>

The ZIP code for Cherokee: 35616<6>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Cherokee had an population of 1,004 people. This is a decrease of 4.2% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 18.84% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Cherokee had a population of 1,048 people. This makes Cherokee the county's 4th most populous community.

The population of Cherokee represents 0.02% of the total population of Alabama (which has 4,779,736 people), making it the state's 249th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 1,048 people, the population of Cherokee decreased 15.28% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 1,237 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Cherokee.

Communities Also Named Cherokee ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 30 communities that are also named Cherokee - they are located in California (4), Georgia (2), Iowa, Kansas (2), Kentucky (2), Maine, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina (2), Tennessee (3), Texas (2), Virginia, Washington, West Virginia (2), Wisconsin and Wyoming.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Cherokee.

Communities near Cherokee ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Cherokee.

  • Florence
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)
  • Muscle Shoals
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Muscle Shoals have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscle Shoals
    • Muscle Shoals is located in Colbert County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 14,877 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Muscle Shoals <7>
  • Sheffield
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Tuscumbia
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Iuka
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)
  • Tishomingo
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Waterloo
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Paden
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paden have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paden
    • Paden is located in Tishomingo County (MS)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 112 people
  • Doubleheads Village ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doubleheads Village have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doubleheads Village
    • Doubleheads Village is located in Colbert County
  • Caryton ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Caryton have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Caryton
    • Caryton is located in Colbert County

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Cherokee. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Cherokee.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Cherokee. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Cherokee.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Cherokee. See our Newspapers Page for Cherokee.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Cherokee ...

Looking for more information about Cherokee? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Cherokee, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Cherokee.

Adding Cherokee to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Cherokee in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Cherokee was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>

X2X - From that list, the Cherokee post office opened in 1856.

We also found Cherokee in the book titled List of Post Offices in the United States (1870).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Cherokee.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Cherokee. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Colbert County: www.colbertcounty.org/

The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Alabama's counties, including Colbert, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Cherokee refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a town's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Cherokee may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different.
<3>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Cherokee.
<4>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Cherokee - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<5>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 256 code has been Overlayed with the 938 area code. New phone numbers in the Cherokee area will be assigned with one of these codes: 256 or 938. As a result, placing a call in the Cherokee area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<6>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a town (such as Cherokee). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Cherokee or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<7>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<8>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<9>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025