about the company

Company Profile

Cherokee is a General Contractor in South Carolina

The company was founded in 1939 and incorporated in 1945 by Barney Jordan and his brothers. After graduating from college in 1964, Johnnie Jordan went to work as a job foreman and became president the company in 1980. John Jordan, Jr. began working at the company in 1996, and became the company president in 2011. To learn more about the history of the company, click here.

Our Capabilities
Cherokee’s roots are in highway construction, but we have grown to provide construction services in other industry segments such as commercial, industrial, military, residential, and parks and recreation. We are one of South Carolina’s oldest road building companies still in operation today. Cherokee has performed work throughout the state of South Carolina in addition to North Carolina and Georgia. Today, we provide a full spectrum of construction services to clients in various industry segments.
In addition to these large projects, Cherokee is also known for public works with various municipalities and county governments. We have the ability to mobilize and provide our services at a moment’s notice. This type of service differentiates us from other contractors.
Relationships and Projects

Cherokee’s relationships are with owners such as the SCDOT, the US Army Corps of Engineers, CSX Transportation, DuPont, Westinghouse, SCE&G/Dominion, private developers, and various local municipalities and county governments.

Some of Cherokee’s largest projects were the construction of 60 miles of Interstate 95 in the 1960s and 1970s, and 1980s. The company also partnered with Fluor Daniel on the Design/Build construction of Highway 22 (Conway Bypass) in Horry County. Cherokee is a general contractor in South Carolina that will work hard to ensure relationships with clients are strong and projects are successful.

company Leadership

John Jordan, Jr.
President

John Jordan graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in Economics in 1995. He began working at Cherokee as a teenager and continued working with the company to this day. For over 30 years, John has been deeply involved in all aspects of the company’s operations.

As a third generation owner of Cherokee and a lifetime of being around construction, John is able to bridge the gap between past construction methods and the new construction technologies of today.

John currently serves on the Joint CAGC/SCDOT road committee, Columbia Contractors Association, Executive’s Association of Greater Columbia (EAGC), and various company boards. He is active with local youth baseball leagues and Hammond School.

John Jordan - Cherokee, Inc.
Scott Cawley
Director of Hydro Excavation
Scott Cawley studied Business at Augusta State University and in 2002, started his own roll-off container company in Augusta, Georgia. He sold the company in 2008 and began working in the waste industry in Mobile, Alabama in various leadership positions.
Because of Scott’s work experience and background, he was given the opportunity in 2016 to become the Area Manager for a hydro excavation company in South Carolina. In this role, he was responsible for developing market strategy, staffing, establishing the safety program, managing customer relationships and retention, managing the business development team, ensuring company profitability, and managing the hydro excavation fleet and its compliance with DOT standards.

In 2020, Cherokee hired Scott to start a new Hydro Excavation Division. Scott is responsible for growing this division, which involves making business decisions related to market strategy and growth. It also entails ensuring that safety is maintained within each job performed by identifying job hazards and applying mitigation controls to promote safe working environments. Scott is excited about the growth of this division of the company.

Scott Crawley - Cherokee Hydro Excavation