Sherman

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 3 miles (5 km) 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 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.

Late in the Civil War, pro-Confederate guerrillas led by William Quantrill spent the winter of 1863-1864 in North Texas, with a camp in Sherman and two others in nearby Kentuckytown to the south and Fink to the north. 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 support, following the opening of Southern Methodist University in Dallas in 1915. In 1876, Austin College, the oldest continuously operating college in Texas, was relocated to Sherman from Huntsville. The Sherman Female Institute, later called Mary Nash College, opened in 1877 under sponsorship of the Baptist Church. 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, operated from 1894 to 1929. Sherman also has a long history within the Jewish community. By 1873, Jews in the region regularly met for the High Holidays.

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 was in Sherman during this riot, and reported the situation to Texas Governor Dan Moody. Governor Moody sent National Guard 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 41.5 square miles (107.4 km2), of which 41.4 square miles (107.2 km2) are land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km2), or 0.20%, is covered by water.

Sherman is 70 miles (110 km) north of Dallas and 31 miles (50 km) southwest of Durant, Oklahoma. Gainesville is 32 miles (51 km) to the west, and Bonham is 26 miles (42 km) to the east.

Climate

Sherman is part of the humid subtropical climate area.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 43,645 people, 15,687 households, and 10,097 families residing in the city. The median age was 35.8 years, with 24.1% of residents under the age of 18 and 16.2% aged 65 years or older. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.8 males.

96.7% of residents lived in urban areas, while 3.3% lived in rural areas.

DP1 data enumerated 16,679 households in Sherman, of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 42.6% were married-couple households, 19.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 31.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 18,084 housing units, of which 7.8% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.4%.

Economy

In 2022, Texas Instruments broke ground to build an Integrated Circuit fab campus in Sherman. In late 2025, Texas Instruments began operations at a new $30 billion, 3,000-job, 300-millimeter semiconductor wafer fabrication plant near Sherman's southern city limits. GlobalWafers has opened a $5 billion, 1,500-job wafer factory nearby.

Top employers

Tyson Foods

Texas Instruments

GlobalWafers

Coherent Corp.

Grayson County

City of Sherman

Cooper B-Line Systems

Austin College

Fisher Controls/ Emerson Process Management

Presco Products

Progress Rail

Consolidated Containers

Plyler Construction

Starr Aircraft

Offen Petroleum

GlobiTech

Sunny Delight Beverages

Government

Sherman operates under a council-manager form of local government, and is a home rule city under Texas state law. As of 2026, the city was led by City Manager Dr. Zachary Flores and Mayor Shawn Teamann.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the Sherman District Parole Office in Sherman.

Education

Public schools

Most children in Sherman are zoned to the Sherman Independent School District, 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, a private, Presbyterian, 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, a community college 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 97.5 K-LAKE FM

KCBN 102.5

KMKT Katy Country 93.1

KQDR Hot 107.3 FM

KJIM The Memory Maker AM 1500 and FM 101.3

Television stations

KTEN Channel 10 – (NBC)

KTEN DT Channel 10.2 – (The CW 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 to Dallas

U.S. Highway 82 east-west: Georgia to New Mexico

SH 56 east-west: Honey Grove to Whitesboro

SH 91 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

FM 131 north-south: Denison to Sherman

FM 697 east-west: Whitewright to Sherman

Sherman is served by two U.S. Highways: US 75 (Sam Rayburn Freeway) and US 82. (The latter is locally designated as the Buck Owens Freeway after the famous musician who was born in Sherman.) It is also served by three Texas State Highways, 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.

Sports

In 2023, organizers announced Sherman as the home of two new minor league sports franchises. A semi-professional baseball team called the Sherman Shadowcats began play in the Mid-American League during late spring of 2024. The club moved to the Texas Collegiate League for the 2026 season.