city, Neosho county, southeastern Kansas, U.S., on the Neosho River. Settled c. 1870 and named for Octave Chanute, a civil engineer and aviation pioneer, the settlement developed as a trading and shipping centre for an agricultural and oil-producing region. Manufactures include drilling equipment, work clothes, chemicals, and cement. Chanute is the seat of Neosho County Community College (1936). The city's Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum has collections pertaining to the work of the explorers (Osa Johnson (Johnson, Osa) was born in Chanute), as well as a library devoted to exploration and ethnography. Wilson State Fishing Lake is about 10 miles (16 km) west of the city. Inc. 1873. Pop. (1990) 9,488; (2000) 9,411.