HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Sherman is a U.S. city in and the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...
of
Grayson County, Texas Grayson County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, its population was 135,543. The county seat is Sherman, Texas, Sherman. The county was founded in 1846 and is named ...
. The city's population in 2020 was 43,645. It is one of the two principal cities in the Sherman–Denison metropolitan statistical area, and it is part of the Texoma region of North Texas and southern Oklahoma.


History

Sherman was named after General Sidney Sherman (July 23, 1805 – August 1, 1873), a hero of the Texas Revolution. The community was designated as the county seat by the act of the Texas Legislature, which created Grayson County on March 17, 1846. In 1847, a post office began operation. Sherman was originally located at the center of the county, but in 1848, it was moved about east to its current location. By 1850, Sherman had become an incorporated town under Texas law. It had also become a stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail route through Texas. By 1852, Sherman had a population of 300 and consisted of a public square with a log court house, several businesses, a district clerk's office, and a church along the east side of the square. In 1861, the first flour mill was built. During the 1850s and 1860s, Sherman continued to develop and to participate in regional politics. Because many residents of North Texas had migrated from the
Upper South The Upland South and Upper South are two overlapping cultural and geographic subregions in the inland part of the Southern and lower Midwestern United States. They differ from the Deep South and Atlantic coastal plain by terrain, history, econom ...
and only a low percentage were slaveholders, considerable Unionist sentiment existed in the region. E. Junius Foster, the publisher of Sherman's antisecessionist Whig newspaper, the ''Patriot'', circulated a petition to establish North Texas as an independent free state. Following Confederate passage of a conscription law, resistance arose to conscription in North Texas, especially as owners of many slaves were exempt. A group of slaveholders in nearby Cooke County feared the Unionists might join others and perform acts of sabotage. In October 1862, a unit of state militia arrested between 150 and 200 men on suspicion of insurrection. In the
Great Hanging at Gainesville The Great Hanging at Gainesville was the execution by hanging of 41 suspected Unionists (men loyal to the United States) in Gainesville, Texas, in October 1862 during the American Civil War. Two additional suspects were shot by Confederate troops ...
, 42 of the arrested men were killed, most of them hanged by a mob, while others were sentenced to death by a self-appointed "citizens' court". Following the lynchings, Colonel William Young, who had organized the jury for the "citizens' court", was killed by unknown assailants. Young had been responsible for more than 20 deaths. Newspaper publisher Foster "applauded" Young's death, and was soon gunned down by Capt. Jim Young, the colonel's son. Pro-Confederate militiamen rounded up even more "suspects" in Sherman, but Confederate Brigadier General
James W. Throckmorton James Webb Throckmorton (February 1, 1825April 21, 1894) was an American politician who served as the 12th governor of Texas from 1866 to 1867 during the early days of Reconstruction. He was a United States Congressman from Texas from 1875 to ...
intervened to stop the killings. By the time Throckmorton restored order, only five of the originally arrested men were still alive. Late in the Civil War, pro-Confederate guerrillas led by William Quantrill spent the winter in Sherman. Former guerrilla Jesse James also came to Sherman for his honeymoon. He was photographed seated on his horse in Sherman. During the 1860s, secondary education developed in North Texas. The Sherman Male and Female High School began accepting students in 1866, under the patronage of the North Texas Methodist Conference. It became one of three private schools operating in Sherman. The school operated under several names, including the North Texas Female College and Conservatory of Music from 1892 to 1919 and Kidd-Key College and Conservatory, from 1919 to 1935. It gradually lost
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
support, following the opening of
Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = " The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , p ...
in Dallas in 1915. In 1876,
Austin College Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Sherman, Texas.Huntsville Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...
. The Sherman Female Institute, later called Mary Nash College, opened in 1877 under sponsorship of the
Baptist Church Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul comp ...
. It continued to operate until 1901, when the campus was sold to Kidd-Key College. Carr–Burdette College, a women's college affiliated with the
Disciples of Christ The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...
, operated from 1894 to 1929. Sherman also has a long history within the
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
community. By 1873, Jews in the region regularly met for the
High Holidays The High Holidays also known as the High Holy Days, or Days of Awe in Judaism, more properly known as the Yamim Noraim ( he, יָמִים נוֹרָאִים, ''Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm''; "Days of Awe") #strictly, the holidays of Rosh HaShanah ("Jewi ...
. While general depression and lawlessness occurred during the
Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology * Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...
, Sherman remained commercially active. During the 1870s, Sherman's population reached 6,000. In 1875, after two fires destroyed many buildings east of the town square, a number of civic buildings were rebuilt using more permanent materials. This included a new Grayson County Courthouse built in 1876. In 1879, the Old Settlers' Association of North Texas formed and met near Sherman. The organization incorporated in 1898 and purchased Old Settlers' Park in 1909. On May 15, 1896, a
tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, alt ...
measuring F5 on the
Fujita scale The Fujita scale (F-Scale; ), or Fujita–Pearson scale (FPP scale), is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation. The official Fujita scale category is deter ...
struck Sherman. The tornado had a damage path wide and long, killing 73 people and injuring 200. About 50 homes were destroyed, with 20 of them obliterated. In 1901, the first electric "
Interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 ...
" railway in Texas, the Denison and Sherman Railway, was completed between Sherman and Denison. The Texas Traction Company completed a interurban between Sherman and
Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
in 1908, and in 1911 purchased the Denison and Sherman Railway. Through the connections in Dallas and Denison, travel to the Texas destinations of Terrell,
Corsicana Corsicana is a city in Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45, 56 miles northeast of Waco, Texas. The population was 23,770 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Navarro County, and an important Agri-business ...
,
Waco Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the s ...
,
Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...
, Cleburne, and Denton, became possible, as well as to
Durant, Oklahoma Durant () is a city in Bryan County, Oklahoma, United States that serves as the headquarters of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. The population was 18,589 in the 2020 census. Durant is the principal city of the Durant Micropolitan Statistical ...
, by interurban railways. One popular destination on the Interurban between Sherman and Denison was Wood Lake Park, a private
amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
at the time. By 1948, all interurban rail service in Texas had been discontinued.


Sherman Riot of 1930

During the Sherman Riot of May 9, 1930, the Grayson County Courthouse was burned down by local citizens in an attempt to lynch George Hughes, an African American suspected of assaulting a white woman. During the riot, Hughes was locked in the vault at the courthouse and apparently died in the fire. Rescue work was hindered by saboteurs cutting the fire hoses. After rioters retrieved Hughes' body from the vault, it was dragged behind a car, hanged, and set afire. The black business section of Sherman was also burned down, and many African Americans fled. Texas Ranger
Frank Hamer Francis Augustus Hamer (March 17, 1884 – July 10, 1955) was an American lawman and Texas Ranger who led the 1934 posse that tracked down and killed criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. Renowned for his toughness, marksmanship, an ...
was in Sherman during this riot, and reported the situation to Texas Governor
Dan Moody Daniel James Moody Jr. (June 1, 1893May 22, 1966), was an American lawyer and Democratic politician. Originally from Taylor, Texas, he served as the 30th governor of Texas between 1927 and 1931. At the age of 33, he was elected and took offic ...
. Governor Moody sent
National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...
troops to Sherman on May 9 and martial law was declared in Sherman for ten days. Fourteen men were later indicted, not for lynching, but for arson and rioting. In the end, only J.B. "Screw" McCasland was convicted and sentenced to prison for arson and for rioting.


Geography

Sherman is located slightly east of the center of Grayson County, between Denison to the north and Howe to the south. The city has a total area of , of which are land and , or 0.20%, is covered by water. Sherman is north of Dallas and southwest of Durant, Oklahoma. Gainesville is to the west, and Bonham is to the east.


Climate

Sherman is part of the
humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
climate area.


Demographics


2020 census

As of the
2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...
, there were 43,645 people, 15,687 households, and 10,097 families residing in the city.


2010 census

As of the 2010 census, 38,521 people, 14,864 households, and 8,820 families were residing in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...
was 910.0 people/sq mi (351.4/km). The 14,926 housing units averaged 387.2/sq mi (149.5/km). The
racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...
of the city was 78.6% White, 11.4% African American, 0.8% Native American, 2.1% Asian, and 3.7% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 19.8% of the population. Of the 14,864 households, 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were not families. About 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59, and the average family size was 3.01. In the city, the age distribution was 25.9% under 18, 13.1% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $43,557. Males had a median income of $31,828 versus $23,363 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
for the city was $22,029. About 19.9% of the population was below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
.


Government

Sherman operates under a council-manager form of local government, and is a
home rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wi ...
city under Texas state law. As of 2022, the city was led by City Manager Robby Hefton and Mayor David Plyler. The
Texas Department of Criminal Justice The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jai ...
operates the Sherman District Parole Office in Sherman.


Education


Public schools

Most children in Sherman are zoned to the
Sherman Independent School District Sherman Independent School District is a public school district based in Sherman, Texas ( USA). In addition to Sherman, the district also serves the village of Knollwood. Sherman is the sister city of Denison, Texas. In 2009, the school dis ...
, which includes Sherman High School. Some parts are in Denison Independent School District or Howe Independent School District.


Private schools

A small percentage of children attend one of the three private schools in Sherman: Grayson Christian School, St. Mary's Catholic School, or Texoma Christian School.


Colleges and universities

Austin College Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Sherman, Texas.Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...
, liberal arts college, relocated to Sherman in 1876. Founded in 1849, it is the oldest college or university in Texas operating under its original charter.
Grayson College Grayson College is a public community college in Grayson County, Texas. The main campus is in Denison and it has branch campuses in Denison (west extension, at the site of the old Perrin Air Force Base) and Van Alstyne (south campus). Histo ...
, a
community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior s ...
based in neighboring Denison, operates a branch campus in Sherman.


Libraries

The Sherman Public Library serves the city of Sherman and all citizens. The library underwent a $2 million, floor-to-ceiling renovation in 2017, reopening to the public in August 2018.


Media


Magazine

* ''Texoma Living!'' magazine


Newspaper

* '' The Herald Democrat''


Radio stations

* KLAK
Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
97.5 * KMAD Mad Rock 102.5 * KMKT Katy Country 93.1 * KQDR Doc FM 107.3 *
KJIM
JIM The Memory Maker AM 1500 and FM 101.3 Sherman's Oldest and Newest Radio Station


Television stations

* KTEN Channel 10 – (
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
) * KTEN DT Channel 10.2 – (
The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
Texoma) * KTEN DT Channel 10.3 – ( ABC) * KXII Channel 12 – ( CBS) * KXII DT Channel 12.2 ( My Texoma) * KXII DT Channel 12.3 ( Fox Texoma)


Infrastructure


Transportation

* U.S. Highway 75
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
to Dallas *
U.S. Highway 82 U.S. Route 82 (US 82) is an east–west United States highway in the Southern United States. Created on July 1, 1931 across central Mississippi and southern Arkansas, US 82 eventually became a 1,625-mile (2,615 km) route extending from ...
east-west:
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
to
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...
* SH 56 east-west: Honey Grove to Whitesboro *
SH 91 The following highways are numbered 91: International * European route E91 Australia * Cairns Western Arterial Road * Summerland Way Brasil * SP-91, state highway in Sao Paulo Canada * British Columbia Highway 91 ** British Columbia Highway ...
north-south: Achille, Oklahoma to Sherman * SH 11 east-west: Linden to Sherman * FM 1417 north-south: Denison to Sherman * FM 691 east-west: Sherman to
North Texas Regional Airport North Texas Regional Airport / Perrin Field is a county-owned airport in Grayson County, Texas between Sherman and Denison. Formerly Grayson County Airport, the airport was renamed in November 2007. Several buildings are occupied by businesses ...
* FM 131 north-south: Denison to Sherman * FM 697 east-west: Whitewright to Sherman Sherman is served by two
U.S. Highways The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...
: US 75 (
Sam Rayburn Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn (January 6, 1882 – November 16, 1961) was an American politician who served as the 43rd speaker of the United States House of Representatives. He was a three-time House speaker, former House majority leader, two-time ...
Freeway) and US 82. (The latter is locally designated as the
Buck Owens Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 No. 1 hits on ...
Freeway after the famous musician who was born in Sherman.) It is also served by three
Texas State Highway Texas state highways are a network of highways owned and maintained by the U.S. state of Texas. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is the state agency responsible for the day-to-day operations and maintenance of the system. Texas ...
s, which extend beyond Grayson County: State Highway 11, State Highway 56, and State Highway 91 (Texoma Parkway), one of the main commercial strips that connects Sherman and Denison, and also extends to Lake Texoma. General aviation service is provided by Sherman Municipal Airport and North Texas Regional Airport/Perrin Field in Denison. TAPS Public Transit is the sole transit provider for Sherman, with curb-to-curb paratransit for all residents.


Medical care

The city of Sherman is served locally by Wilson N. Jones Regional Medical Center, Texoma Medical Center, and a Baylor Scott & White surgery center.


Top employers

*
Tyson Foods Tyson Foods, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, based in Springdale, Arkansas, that operates in the food industry. The company is the world's second-largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork after JBS S.A. It annually ...
*
Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American technology company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that designs and manufactures semiconductors and various integrated circuits, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globa ...
*
II-VI Incorporated Coherent Corp. (formerly II-VI Incorporated) is an American manufacturer of optical materials and semiconductors. As of 2021, the company had 22,961 employees. Their stock is listed at Nasdaq under the ticker symbol COHR. In 2022, II-VI acquired ...
* Grayson County * City of Sherman * Cooper B-Line Systems *
Austin College Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Sherman, Texas.Fisher Controls/ Emerson Process Management * Kaiser Aluminum * Presco Products * Progress Rail * Consolidated Containers * Plyler Construction * Starr Aircraft * Douglass Distributing * GlobiTech * Sunny Delight Beverages


Notable people


See also

*
May 1896 tornado outbreak sequence The tornado outbreak sequence of May 1896 was a series of violent and deadly tornado outbreaks that struck much of the Central and Southern United States from May 15 to 28, 1896. It is considered one of the worst tornado outbreak sequences on recor ...
* Sherman, Texas bus accident * Sherman, Texas minor league baseball teams


Notes


References


Further reading

* Grayson County Frontier Village, ''The History of Grayson County Texas'', Hunter Publishing Co., Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 1979. * Redshaw, Peggy A., "Sherman, Texas, and the 1918 Pandemic Flu," ''East Texas Historical Journal,'' 51 (Spring 2013), 67–85. *
E. R. Bills (author) E. R. Bills (born 1967) is an American author and journalist. Life and career Born in Fort Worth in 1967, Bills was raised in Aledo, Texas. His blue-collar parents stressed the importance of a college education and sent him to Europe with the Ame ...
. ''Black Holocaust: The Paris Horror and a Legacy of Texas Terror''. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2015.


External links


City of Sherman official website

Sherman Chamber of Commerce

Sherman article in the ''Handbook of Texas''
* {{Authority control Cities in Texas Cities in Grayson County, Texas County seats in Texas Populated places established in 1846 Butterfield Overland Mail in Texas 1846 establishments in Texas Stagecoach stops in the United States