CHEROKEE, TEXAS

San Saba County, Texas Hill Country

30°58'57"N 98°42'27"W (30.9823928, -98.7075397)
Highway 16 & FM 501
15 Miles S of San Saba the county seat
18 Miles N of Llano
Population: 175 (2000)

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Cherokee street scene
Photo courtesy Christine Middleton, 2007

History in a Pecan Shell

The settlement was named after nearby Cherokee Creek. P. P. "Pop" Woodard is credited with being the first settler - in the early 1850s. Woodard's ranch was five miles west of present-day Cherokee. In 1858 a post office was granted in Llano county with J.R. Williams as postmaster. Ten years later it moved to Hanna, Texas in San Saba County. In 1871 it moved again - sharing space with a store and hotel on the north side of Cherokee Creek. After a short move to another home on a branch of Cherokee Creek, it finally arrived (1879) to the store of J. S.Hart in Cherokee proper. In place for over 125 years, Cherokee's post office is the second oldest in the county.

David Seth Hanna (namessake of Hanna, Texas) is credited with platting the town of Cherokee in 1878. Essential businesses opened and by 1890 the community had a healthy population of 500 - which was good for a town without a railroad connection. The Cherokee Academy opened in the mif 1890s and underwent several changes of name. It was sold to the county in 1921 and operated as the Cherokee High School until it burned in 1945. The original façade was saved and incorporated into a rebuilt structure.

The prosperous 20s gave Cherokee a bank and two newspapers but without a railroad connection there were limits to growth. The population stayed at 250 for decades, slowly declining to 175 for the 1990 Census - the same figure that appears on the 2007 state map.

Cherokee Architecture
Photo courtesy Christine Middleton, 2007

A farm on FM 501
Photo courtesy Ernie Wymer, 2007

Cherokee, Texas Chronicles

The Popularity of Polo by Michael Barr

"...As polo's popularity grew, other Hill Country towns formed clubs. Teams from Llano, Stonewall, Cherokee, Brady, Junction, Menard, Rocksprings, Mason and Fredericksburg played scheduled games and tournaments every spring and summer...." more

1907 San Saba County Postal Map showing Cherokee
near Llano County line
(from Texas state map #2090)
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

Cherokee, Texas Area Towns:
San Saba the county seat
Llano | Austin
See San Saba County | Texas Hill Country

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