Chanute is a city in Neosho County, Kansas, United States. Founded on January 1, 1873, it was named after railroad engineer and aviation pioneer Octave Chanute. The city's population was 9,411 at the 2000 census. Although Chanute is the largest city in Neosho County, it is not the county seat, the position held by Erie. According to KANSAS: A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc. , "In 1870 when the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston R. R. (now the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe) crossed the Missouri, Kansas and Texas line within the limits of Neosho county four rival towns sprang up, in the vicinity of the junction. They were New Chicago, Chicago Junction, Alliance and Tioga. Two years of the most bitter animosity ensued until the four were consolidated in 1872, and the name of Chanute given it in honor of Octavius Chanute, a railroad civil engineer" .