 The naming of Grayson County's seat was political for Sidney Sherman, a saunch supporter of Houston.
He was born 1803 in Massachusetts, moving to Boston at the age of
12 when he was orphaned. He moved to New York City for a short
time and settled in Newport, Kentucky in 1831. In November 1835
Sherman pledged during a Cincinnati public meeting, November 1835, to
support the Texas War of Independence. He left January 6, 1836
with a company of 52 men, known as "The Kentucky Rifles, for Texas.
He became a Major General of the Texas Militia and is credited
with originating the cry, "Remember the Alamo; remember Goliad".
He acquired all the available property in Harrisburg but died in
poverty in Galveston in 1873. The only worthy monument to his
name was the Texas Congress naming the county seat of Sherman after
him, a town which he never visited.
The creation of Grayson County began in 1846. The location of the county seat had to be within three miles of the geographic center of the new county. Appointed commissioners appointed to determine the location of the county seat were: James G. Thompson, James B. Shannon, George C. Dugan, Richard McIntyre and Micajah Davis. The location of the new county seat was on the hill west of the present site of Sherman, near where the Woodman's Circle Home was later built. Uriah Burns auctioned off lots of the new city on December 1, 1846. Some of the purchasers were Robert Atchison, Joseph B. Earheart, J. C. Thompson, George Shields, James H. Mars, Joshua West, J. Martin, M. C. Davis, James Miller, James B. Shannon, J. Gaskins, M. Hardaway, J. M. Bonds, Joshua Triesre, John Hendricks and J. Cronister. The first courthouse was built by M. L. Webster with the structure being 24 ft x 24 ft square, nine feet high, two doors and two windows with the windows to be twelve lights each. It was to be completed by July 1847. A crowd gathered on July 4, 1847 to celebrate the opening of a new phase of life. Under a brush arbor, a whiskey barrel was provided and a colored fiddler played as long as there was anyone who cared to dance. The first court meeting was held in the residence of Robert Atchison before the construction of the courthouse could be completed. William C. Young is believed to have acted as the prosecuting attorney. The story is that the first court session was interrupted when a flock of wild turkeys flew overhead. Everyone attending, including the prosecuting attorney, rushed into the yard to take a shot at the birds. T. J. Shannon was the primary agitator for the changing of the location of the county seat. In a Dallas News article dated March 14, 1926, R. E. Shannon was quoted the following: My father owned the land, and he and Sam Blagg, owner of the Blagg survey, were personal friends and had traded together a great deal. Before leaving for Austin, my father deeded the land on which Sherman now stands to Sam Blagg, the understanding to be that Blagg was to make the best trade possible with the County Commissioners as to getting the town located and give the land for the purpose. If the trade fell through, Blagg was to deed the land back to my father. There was no money involved in the deal, the only consideration to be getting the town located as near the center of the two surveys as possible. The owners expect to receive their profits in the advanced price of the land being near the city, which they owned. The trade was made. Blagg deeded the land to the county and Sherman was located where it now is. Shannon made a passage through the brambles where he intended the streets of the new town to be. To his twelve-year-old daughter, Julia, he gave the honor of naming the streets. The names she chose were Mulberry, Pecan, Houston, Lamar, Jones, Cherry, Walnut, Travis, Crockett, Rusk and Elm. The first log courthouse built on the new site was constructed on the east side of the present-day square. It sat close to the famous, old pecan tree. Under the pecan tree, business was transacted and court was held in good weather. The story is that the tree even served as a post office. The postmaster would stuff letters into the pockets of an old coat which he hung from a branch of the pecan tree. It is said that farmers and merchants would leave gold in their saddlebags unattended beneath this tree knowing that nothing would be taken. In 1856, the 'hotel' was operated by Enoch Moss. In the Dallas Herald, he advertised: TEXAS HOTEL Sherman, Grayson County TEXAS The undersigned having opened the above house, would respectfully inform the traveling public that he is prepared to accomdate travelers and will spare no pains to please his patrons. His table will at all times be supplied with the best that the market affords and his beds and bedding will be found to be clean and comfortable. He flatters himself that he will be enabled to give satisfaction to all who may give him a call. Attached to the above house is a large stable, well supplied and attended. May 10, 1856 Enoch Moss During the 1850's a two-story frame building was constructed at Pecan and Travis. This was called the "Union Church", the lower floor was used for services and the upper floor for Mason and Odd Fellow meetings. This was the meeting place for all denominations until individually houses of worship were established. On September 20, 1858 the first coach of the Butterfield Overland Stage rolled up at the Jones Livery Stable. The Butterfield route took the place of the old "Jackass Express" The first fair was in 1859 with the backers making it an annual affair but was abruptly stopped by the Civil War. The railroads arrived in Sherman in the 1870s. A street car line was added and gas lights were installed on city streets. The early 1900s was a growth period for Sherman. There was the establishment of an interurban line between Sherman and Denison; St. Vincent and Sherman hospitals were in operation. There was a new city library, federal building and post office, a new city charter and the Grayson Hotel. Also at this time period there was a small pox epidemic. City saloons were outlawed in a local election. Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft were guests of the city. The 1930s brought to Sherman the municipal airport and a city swimming pool. Kidd-Key College facilities were purchased by the city government for a municipal building and the Red River dam was authorized by congress. The city population topped the 15,000 mark. Perrin Air Force Base was opened on county property in the 1940's. The Sherman oil field began operation. The population reached 26,000. The 1950s and 1960s saw industrial growth with companies that included IBM, Johnson and Johnson, Texas Instruments and Texoma Inc. By 1970, Sherman's population had grown to 30,000 and the Sher-Den Mall opened. Sources An Illustrated History of Grayson County, Texas by Graham Landrum, 1960 The History of Grayson County Texas by Grayson County Frontier Village, 1979, by Joan Ball Sherman History Towns Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson CountyTXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |