Cherokee County is named for the Cherokee Native American tribe who resided in the region.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Crawford County
E – Jasper County, Missouri
S – Ottawa County, Oklahoma and Craig County, Oklahoma
W – Labette County
Created: August 25, 1855 
County Seat:
Pleasant View 1855 – 1868
Baxter Springs 1867 – 1868
Columbus 1868 – present
County Courthouse – Columbus
Location: 110 West Maple Street / South Kansas Avenue
Built: 1955 – 1956
Style: Modern
Architect: Glover and Newcomb
Contractor: Baumann Construction Company
Description: The building faces north and is a three story yellow and orange colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Columbus. The building has a raised basement and two story east and west wings. The north front has a projecting central section with stone facing on the first and second stories which frames the entrances and windows. There is a clock at the top of the second story. In the interior there is Art Deco design and a dual staircase on the north side. The County District Court courtroom is located on the south side of the third story. The building houses the County District Court of the 11th Judicial District. In 2019, the exterior was refurbished by Mid-Continental Restoration. There is a clock tower on the northwest corner which houses the clockworks from the 1888 County Courthouse.
Note: Near the courthouse is the old clock from the 1888 courthouse constructed by Schrage & Nicols.
See: The 11th Judicial District includes Crawford County and Labette County.
History: The county was created in 1857 as McGee County and in 1860 the name was changed to Cherokee County. Pleasant View was selected as the county seat in 1867 when the county was organized. The county seat was moved to Baxter Springs in 1868. When the county seat was transferred to Columbus in 1869, the county rented a house on the public square. The first courthouse was erected in 1871. A second courthouse was built in Baxter Springs in 1872 as an inducement to return of the county seat. The third courthouse was designed by Schraye & Nicholas and constructed by C C Wenzell in 1888. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1955 to 1956.
Old County Courthouse – Baxter Springs
Location: 1210 West 10th Street / Park Avenue
Built: 1872
Style: Classical
Architect: Unknown
Contractor: Unknown
Description: The building faces south and is a two story red colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Baxter Springs. The south front has a central arch on the first story with recessed entrance. The roof is hipped. In the interior, the former courtroom had been located on the secons story. The building is named as the Johnston Library. The library occupies the first story.
Note: The courthouse was built by the town of Baxter Springs to provide an inducement for making it the permanent county seat. The building did house the county sheriff’s office and jail for eight years until the county jail was completed at Columbus in 1880.
County Courthouse – Columbus
County District Court courtroom
Clock Tower 1888 County Courthouse Clock
Old County Courthouse – Baxter Springs
Photos taken 2009 and 2022