 The Sunday
Gazetteer
Sunday, October 14, 1894 pg. 2 SHERMAN An Interesting Sketch of the Early History of the Town From the People's Progress The town of Sherman was organized in 1848, and was originally located about five miles west of the present city. In 1847 Abraham R. Loving, father of Jesse P. Loving, Sr. passed over the old site of Sherman on his way to Denton county, where he settled. The town had not there been organized and there was not even a log hut to mark the spot where the town was subsequently located. But the sight at first selected was not a desirable one, the water supply being entirely insufficient to sustain a population of any considerable size. At this juncture, Col. Thos. J. Shannon came forward with a proposition looking to the removal of the town. He had just been elected a member of the legislature, and as an inducement for the removal of the county seat he offered to donate a valuable tract of land where an abundance of water could be obtained, the land being located where the present city now stands. The removal of the town naturally followed. In the list of first settlers might be mentioned the names of Smith Scott, now of Bonham, Clem Fitch, Robert A. King, Billy Taylor, John Cook, Robert Jackson, Monroe Binkley, Robert Atchison, the first district clerk and at whose house the first court was held, Will Leslie, A.E. Hughes, present sheriff, the Jennings, the Randolphs, John Hedrick, and others. From its inception the town of Sherman was a good trading post by reason of its fine agricultural surroundings, the growing cattle interests, and the trade derived from the Indians, many of whom gave Sherman the preference, traveling many miles to take advantage of the superior trading facilities offered. It was during these days that vast numbers of "dusky denizens" could be seen in the village almost any day, and many an escapade was witnessed by the pioneers, greatly to the amusement of the latter, and in which the native sons and daughters were the central figures. In 1851 Barton W. Taylor, brother-in-law of George Dugan, established the first school here. It soon attained quite a reputation, was patronized by both whites and Indians, many of whom came from a great distance, by which it will be seen that Sherman was early destined to be a great educational center. The school building was naturally quite unpretentious. The frame work was made of hewn post oaks and the entire structure was very crude. In the fall of 1852 the father of Jesse Loving removed from Denton county to Sherman "to educate his children." From 1851 to 1861 many sturdy pioneers were added to the population, among whom were George Dickerman, Geo. W. Bond, Ed Moore, John Chaflin, Wm. Chaflin, Jesse P. Loving Sr., the Eubanks, the Dorchesters, and others, some of whom are now here, but many have passed over the divide. At the commencement of the war, there were about eight hundred residents of the town. The growth during the "unpleasantness" was hardly perceptible. The war over, Sherman began to grow rapidly, and for years was the leading trade point of the southwest, people coming here from as far as Paul's Valley on the north and from a distance of several hundred miles west and southwest. Among the additions to the town from 1865 to 1875, were: R.A. Chapman, Judge Tom Brown, the Childs, Capt. Horace Lee, J.R. Cole, A.L. Darnell, E.G. Douglass, Dr. S.C. Eason, A. Fulton, Judge E.P. Gregg, E.F. Halsell, Silas Hare, Sr., J.P. Harrison, A. Harrington, Robt. Dulin, Dr. H.L. Hall, and Dick Hopson, present postmaster, Kimball Bros., the Levys, Geo. F. Lindsey, Totten Bros., Capt. LeTellier, W.E. Oxford, Wm. Scott, present county treasurer, M. O'Callahan, county jailor, Capt. Jas. S. Porter, Ex-Mayor, Patty, Joiner & Co., Cullers and Henry, Major Wm. H. Rucker, Mrs. E.A. Shackleford, W.E. Staples, C.H. Perry, John W. Stewart, Sr. and John W. Stewart, Jr., Stinnett Bros., the Simmons, Mrs. M. Tolson, H.N. Tuck, ex-county treasurer, G.M. Etter, ex-collector, R.E. Smith, J.E. Wharton, J.B. Fairchilds, Hugh Hall, father of H.L. Hall, cashier of the City Bank, J.C. Williams, W.W. Wilkins, F.C. Dillard, W.F. Woodard, Dr. Winn, O.F. Wyrick, Rev. J.C. Carpenter, and others. The first railroad was built to the city in 1872; and the present county court house was completed in 1875.
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