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Cherokee County | GAGen Web Project

The colorful history of Cherokee County is rich with the saga of the Cherokee people and their involuntary exodus West, the new inhabitants brought in by the Georgia land lottery, and Civil War woes. Through grit and opportunity, Cherokee County made it through the Great Depression to become the prosperous seventh largest county in Georgia that it is today. 

The land here has always been fruitful, bearing valuable minerals and gold. The rich soil led to an expansion in cotton production.  Etowah Valley became the industrial hub of north Georgia during the mid-1800s and the bustling county had in operation ten grist mills, fourteen saw mills, seven flour mills, and twelve distilleries. 

During WWII, the surging poultry industry created several jobs in hatcheries, feed stores, rendering and processing plants, and equipment manufacturers. The poultry industry was so big that Cherokee County was known as the “Poultry Capital of the World” by the late 1950s. 

Cherokee County capitalized on another opportunity for growth in 1979 with the federal government’s construction of Interstate 575. The new interstate opened up opportunities to residents in Cherokee County allowing them to work in Atlanta. This also resulted in more and more people relocating to Cherokee County. By the early 2000s, the county saw people coming in at the rate of one new resident every hour. The county currently has a population of 247,894 making it the seventh largest county in Georgia.

Queries Posted Online
You may want to search this locality Message Board on Ancestry.com for information about Cherokee County, Georgia.

FindAGrave: Cherokee County
You can browse cemeteries in Cherokee County at this site. Often times, a grave will be linked to information about kin.

Cherokee List Server
To register to receive the list e-mail GACHEROK-L-request@rootsweb.com If you prefer the Digest mode, e-mail GACHEROK-D-request@rootsweb.com In either case, the message should include only one word: “subscribe.”

County Boundaries

It is essential to consider the changing boundaries of any area (state, territory or county) that you are researching. When records for our ancestors are not found in Cherokee County, the may be found in the records of counties formed from the lands of original Cherokee County.

• See maps showing the evolution of Cherokee County from one to twenty-two counties.
• Map of original Cherokee Co., 1832
• Current map of original Cherokee County area (22 counties).

Go to: Maps & Boundaries