Cherokee is a former settlement in Nevada County

Nevada County, California

Nevada County is a county located in the Sierra Nevada of California, in the Mother Lode country. As of 2010 its population was 98,764. The county seat is Nevada City.-History:Nevada County was created in 1851 from parts of Yuba County....

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, 3.5 mi (5.6 km) from North San Juan

North San Juan, California

North San Juan is a census-designated place in Nevada County, California, United States, along State Route 49 on the San Juan Ridge in Gold Country. The zip code is 95960...

. Its elevation is 2516 ft (766.9 m) above sea level

Above mean sea level

The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...

.

History

The town went through several names changes. The name Cherokee was a tribute to Cherokee Indians who prospected at the site in 1850. Paterson was the middle name of the first postmaster. Melrose was the Massachusetts hometown of a later postmaster.

A post office operated in the town during the periods of 1855-1895, 1905-1909, 1910-1924

By 1867, at a time when it was referred to as Patterson, the town had a church, stores, hotels, a shoe shop, and a blacksmith.