 Old Sherman Texas
was annexed into the United States of American in February 1846.
A bill which created the county as "White" was entered February
23, 1845; Senator McNeal moved to strike out "White" and
insert "Grayson" wherever it occurred in the bill. The next
month on March
17, 1846 Grayson County was created from part of Fannin County and
named in honor of Peter W. Grayson, the Attorney General in President
Burnett's Cabinet in 1836. After establishing Grayson County and Specifying its boundaries....of a bill passed March 17, 1846, section four continued : "Be it further enacted that James Thompson, Jas. B. Shannon, George C. Dugan, Richard McIntyre and Micajah C. Davis, be, and they are hereby appointed Commissioners, whose duty it shall be to find the center of the County and select two places within three miles of said center, having due respect to the donations that may be offered of land, or other property for a town site for the use of said County. The Commissioners shall then proceed to hold an elections at the precincts in said County, and the place receiving the greatest number of votes, shall be the County seat of said County, and the place so selected shall be known and called by the name of Sherman; after which, the Commissioners shall proceed to lay off a town, and sell the lots t herein on a credit of twelve months; and after reserving one dollar per day each, for each and every day they may be required to serve as Commissioners, appropriate the remainder of the proceeds arising from such sale to the erection of the necessary public buildings for the use by the County. Judge James G. Thompson lived on the River above Preston; James B. Shannon south of Denison; George C. Dugan and Richard McIntyre lived southeast of Denison, and M.C. Davis in the area of Denison's Lillis Lane, Crawford and Ansley streets. The Commissioners selected two places for the Grayson County county seat and the election was held July 13, 1846. The location chosen in the election was a spot 1/4 mile South of the present home of Louise Duke, 3 miles west of the present city of Sherman. (Sherman Democrat, 25 September 1955) "Old" Sherman was located on a high barren prairie with neither water nor timber. It was a site in the Peter's Colony and claimed by three different colonists; consequently, the Commissioners were not about to make the title to the lots sold at Old Sherman. They then requested a law giving 5 miles from the center of the county instead of 3 miles for the purpose of locating a county seat. The spot determined upon was located on the hill west of the present site of Sherman, near the old Woodman's Circle Home. During the summer of 1846 only one man, a cripple named James Miller, lived there and sold whiskey. On December 1, 1846 Uruah Burns auctioned off lots in the new city of Sherman. Purchasers were Robert Atchison, Joseph B. Earheart, J.G. Thompson, George Shields, James H. Mars, Joshua West. J. Marrin, M.C. Davis, James Miller, James B. Shannon, J. Gaskins, M. Hardaway, J.M. Bonds, Joshua Trieste, John Hendricks, and J. Cronister. Terms of sale were that payment should be made within one years. The Committee laid off lots which were auctioned on Friday and Saturday of October 1846. Lots were sold to J.B. Earhart, J.G. Thompson, George Shields, J.H. Marrs, Joshua West, J. Martin, James Miller, M.C. Davis, J.M. Bonds, James B. Shannon, J. Gaskind, John Hendricks and J. Cronister. James Miller was the only person to complete his note with his signature and security of all the bidders for town lots in "old" Sherman for the sum of $9.00. The county population at that time was 500. The first court was held on Bob Acheson's farm on Iron Ore Creek. (Note: Court continued to be held in Mr. Acheson's home until the court house was built) Officers elected were: James G. Thompson - Chief Justice Nicholas Maddox & William T. Lankford ~ Gentlemen Commissioners James M. Randolph ~ Sheriff M.G. Cotten - Clerk John Turner - Deputy Clerk James Marrs ~ Surveyor The County minutes read: "It was ordered by the County Court that there be let out to the lowest bidder in the town of Sherman on the 4th Monday in January (1847) a court house of the following descriptions, to wit - A frame 24 feet square, 8 feet high, 2 doors, and 2 windows, which are to be 12 light each, the roof to be 3 foot boards show one foot to weather, shingle form; weather boarding to be four feet long, and touch 4 posts or studding and nailed in each of them, the boards to be jointed on the lower edge and put on in a workmanlike manner. The shutters of the doors and windows to be common batten form and good hinges, the floor to be of good well hughed hewn Puncheon or plank aid loose with sufficient number of sleepers, all done in a workmanlike manner, and to be completed by the 1st day of July 1847 to be inspected and received (by) the Chief Justice, and to be paid for out of any money not otherwise appropriated.... Attest Uriah Burns, Clerk Pro Tem James G. Thompson, CJGC James Miller, CC George Bonds, CC William Lankford, CC "Apparently necessity kept the building from being the frame structure that was ordered. The 1880 minutes of the Old Settlers Association states that the contract for the building of the courthouse went to M.L. Webster. However, the copied records of the Commissioners Court indicate that the structure was built by David Harbolt with Aaron Hill as contractor, paid by John Hendrix, Supt. of Buildings. The cost was $323.00." Willbarger described Sherman on July 4, 1847: "A log house about 20 feet square, used for a courthouse, and a few rods of plowed ground comprised the metropolis from one end to the other." "We dedicated her (county seat) with a barbecue, a barbecue was the only thing Texas could afford then... (North by 36 by Emerson Hugh) "The Fourth of July 1847 was the occasion of a grand barbecue and barn dance at Sherman. A large brush shed was built, under which were tables loaded with all the delicacies of the season, welcome to all, to eat, to drink and be merry without money and without price. The refreshment stand, a rail fence partly built around a barrel of whiskey, stood near at hand while a tin cup did frequent duty for a thirsty crowd. The court house was thrown open to accommodate dancers. Justice took off her spectacles, laid aside her scales, and for once in her life gave herself up to the intoxicating pleasures of the hoedown. Music was furnished by a stalwart darkey perched on a barrel; when he gave out another stood ready to take his place until he could visit the refreshment stand and counteract the effect of the heat and his violent exertions by looking for the bottom of his tin cup."---Wilbarger On July 12, 1847, James Marrs, Grayson County Surveyor, was assigned to meet with James Wilcox of Collin County to survey the common boundary line. Sometime in latter 1847 Jesse Loving and his father, William, came down the Texas & Preston Roads on their way to Denton County. On inquiring about Sherman, they were told that it was "the house on the hill 15 miles back". The house on the hill was on the road running between the Red River and Austin. James B. Thompson was the 1st postmaster for "old" Sherman from 8 March 1847 to 10 June 1847; the mmail was kept in the pocket of an old coat which was hung on a hook behind the door of the shanty. "Old" Sherman lasted about two years. The courthouse was completed in 1847 and was abandoned within a year, moving the Grayson County courthouse meeting place to the pecan tree of "new" Sherman's square. On February 10, 1848 a petition composed of 163 Grayson County citizens' signatures stated that the County had been organized, the county seat was permanently located at the center of the county, roads were laid off from the center of "new" Sherman to all parts of the county, a court house had been erected. In April 1848 the Grayson County seat was moved to the present location of Sherman because of the lack of a good water source for Old Sherman. T.J. Shannon donated $100 to purchase 40 acres for the new town of Sherman. "New" Sherman had three creeks and plenty of timber. The Court ordered that the old courthouse be sold by the Sheriff on August 22, 1848. On November 20, 1848 authorization was made to pay $5.00 to T.J. Shannon for hauling tables, desk, books, etc. from the old courthouse site. R.E. Shannon recalled, "My father owned a Negro man named Tom and he hauled the records and other stuff from the old town over here and the county allowed my father $5.00 for Tom's work." (Fannin County Deed Records indicate Thomas J. Shannon sold a slave named Tom, age 15-16, to James Shannon on March 1840; Tom died 1849). On January 24, 1949 the Court offered the courthouse building for sale on a six month credit; H.A. Ivy stated in Sherman Democrat's "50 Years Ago" c1900 that the site of old Sherman is now embraced in the farm of Mr. N.E. Craig. Lucas' Papers article states "The only remains of improvement on the old site is an old well in the prairies." A well at old Sherman was ordered dug during the January 1948 term of Court. James Shannon and M.C. Davis reported that a well had been dug January 23, 1848 without obtaining water. On January 24, 1849 the Court offered the old courthouse building for sale on a six month credit; it was purchased by Col Shannon and moved to his place north of the city where it was subsequently moved to North Travis Street, where it was still doing duty as part of a residence in 1900. SOURCE : Morris L. Britton. "Organization of Grayson County, The Site of the First Court Sessions and The Location of the Original County Seat", July 1978 Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson CountyTXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |