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Community Photos
Photos from local communities and photographers
Umphress-Taylor Home, Sherman, Texas
Pioneer area landowner, banker, agriculturalist, and community leader James C. Umphress (1841-1917), a Confederate veteran of the Civil War, built this Victorian house for his wife Julia Caroline (Veazey) (d.1932) in 1903. In 1932 it was inherited by a daughter, Maude (Umphress) Taylor (d.1977), who lived here until 1974. A civic leader, she was the wife of local banker and grain dealer Spencer Taylor (d.1943). The family home features influences of Queen Anne and classical revival styling. Reco
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Historical Marker - Umphress-Taylor Home
Inscription. Pioneer area landowner, banker, agriculturalist, and community leader James C. Umphress (1841-1917), a Confederate veteran of the Civil War, built this Victorian house for his wife Julia Caroline (Veazey) (d.1932) in 1903. In 1932 it was inherited by a daughter, Maude (Umphress) Taylor (d.1977), who lived here until 1974. A civic leader, she was the wife of local banker and grain dealer Spencer Taylor (d.1943). The family home features influences of Queen Anne and classical revival
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Saint John Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Sherman Texas
This church, organized in 1875 as Saint John Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Chapel, held its initial services in a sanctuary located in a local community of Freedman known as "Brushtown". The Rev. E.W. Moseley (1854-1911) served as its first pastor. The church relocated here in 1912 and in 1926 contractors J.A. Simmons and Jerry Wall completed this 2-story Greek Revival sanctuary during the pastorship of the Rev. J.E. Raines. It features a central pedimented temple entry with four ionic col
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Sherman aftermath
A man standing in the debris of homes and trees after the 1896 Sherman, Texas F5 tornado
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Travis Lodge No.117, A.F. & A.M. - Building
Travis Lodge No.117, A.F. & A.M. - Buidling
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1896 Sherman tornado damage
Violent damage in Sherman, Texas after an F5 tornado on May 15, 1896.
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1896 Sherman tornado track
The 1896 sherman tornado track with official info
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Artist Rendition of the 1896 Sherman tornado
An artists rendition of the 1896 Sherman tornado after eyewitnessing the catastrophe
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Captain N.A. Birge House
Connecticut native Noble Allan Birge (1832-1902) came to Texas prior to the Civil War. Settling in Jefferson with his wife and children, he was the first elected sheriff of Marion County in 1860. Following his service as a captain in the Confederate Army, Birge became a leading businessman in Jefferson. The owner of a livery stable and numerous city lots, he was an active civic leader involved in such endeavors as a railroad company and a navigation company. The Birge family moved to Grayson Cou
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Historical Marker-Eleventh Texas Calvary
Inscription. In May 1861, a frontier unit was organized at Camp Reeves in Sherman. Drawing volunteers from Cooke, Grayson, Hopkins, Red River, Fannin, Collin, Titus and Bowie counties, the regiment began with nearly 900 men and officers. Initially led by the noted Col. William Cocke Young, the unit fought its first battles in Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, securing the territory for the Confederacy. In October of that year, the unit was inducted into Confederate service as the 11th Texas Cavalr
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Historical Marker-First Presbyterian Church
Inscription. By 1870, the Presbyterian Church in the United States sent the Rev. R.E. Sherrill to organize new congregations in northeast Texas. He led a group of Sherman residents in forming a church in 1871, and by late 1874 the members had constructed a sanctuary on Travis Street, between Pecan and Mulberry streets. Throughout the 1870s, the city of Sherman grew as a result of new rail lines through the community. The congregation, known as First Presbyterian Church, grew along with the city
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Historical Marker-Hall Furniture Building
Inscription. Former Missourian and Civil War veteran Rufus Gaines Hall established a Sherman dry goods store in 1868. The company prospered, in part because it sent 30 notion wagons to sell supplies to settlers on rural farms across 13 counties in North Texas. Hall's son, Dr. Hugh Logan Hall, joined the firm in 1872. In 1892, Dr. Hall and his father bought this property. Five generations of Halls maintained the growing business in this location for a century. Originally two buildings, the west s
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Historical Marker-Kidd-Key College and Music Conservatory
Inscription. Established in 1875 as North Texas Female College, a finishing school for young ladies, and operated by North Texas Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Recharted 1919 as a junior college and music conservatory; renamed in memory of the famed educator, Mrs. Lucy Ann Kidd-Key, school president, 1888 to 1916. Educational program emphasized music, literature and the fine arts. Through its many students and excellent faculty, Kidd-Key exerted strong cultural influ
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Historical Marker-Saint John Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
Inscription. This church, organized in 1875 as Saint John Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Chapel, held its initial services in a sanctuary located in a local community of Freedman known as "Brushtown". The Rev. E.W. Moseley (1854-1911) served as its first pastor. The church relocated here in 1912 and in 1926 contractors J.A. Simmons and Jerry Wall completed this 2-story Greek Revival sanctuary during the pastorship of the Rev. J.E. Raines. It features a central pedimented temple entry with
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Historical Marker-Travis Lodge No.117, A.F. & A.M
Inscription. Founded in 1852, only six years after Sherman was designated the county seat, this Masonic Lodge is one of the oldest continuing institutions in the community. Local Attorney Burrell Smith and fifteen other Masonic brothers petitioned for a dispensation to organize a Masonic Lodge in Sherman on February 10, 1852. On August 28, 1852, Travis Lodge No. 117 was organized and officers were installed. Over the course of its history, the lodge has shared facilities with a Union church, ot
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Historical Marker - Captain N.A. Birge House
Inscription. Connecticut native Noble Allan Birge (1832-1902) came to Texas prior to the Civil War. Settling in Jefferson with his wife and children, he was the first elected sheriff of Marion County in 1860. Following his service as a captain in the Confederate Army, Birge became a leading businessman in Jefferson. The owner of a livery stable and numerous city lots, he was an active civic leader involved in such endeavors as a railroad company and a navigation company. The Birge family moved
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Historical Marker - First United Methodist Church
Inscription. First congregation of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South in Sherman. Established in 1859 with the Rev. J. M. Binkley, pastor, the church was born of labors of circuit riders who braved this frontier area even before the county was organized. The first members worshipped under a brush arbor located on what is now the Sherman Public Square. The first permanent building, a frame structure, was erected in 1860. Located in the 300 block of South Travis Street, this building burned in
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Historical Marker - Fred Douglass School
Inscription. Named for the famed 19th century African American orator Frederick Douglass, the Fred Douglass School was created as one of Sherman's first three public schools in 1879. Two houses one block west of this site were rented for the education of the area's African American children. In the first years of the Fred Douglass School the number of students was about 85. By 1907 the school's population was 350. Fire plagued the Fred Douglass School: in 1904 and again in 1919 the wood buildin
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Historical Marker - Ninth Cavalry
Inscription. The Ninth Texas Cavalry consisted of about 1,000 mounted volunteers from Grayson, Tarrant, Hunt, Hopkins, Cass, Red River, Titus, and Lamar counties. They gathered about 15 miles northwest of here at Brogdon's Springs on October 2, 1861, and were mustered into Confederate service under Colonel William B. Sims. Under Colonel Sims the Ninth Cavalry saw considerable action in the Indian Territory of present-day Oklahoma before joining General Ben McCulloch's army in Arkansas in late J
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Historical Marker - Pioneer Cotton Seed Oil Mill
Inscription. Here the Sherman Cotton Oil Company was created by John Clement Tassey between 1871-1879, to become at one time, largest of its kind in the world. Company was at first housed in frame buildings. In 1891 a permanent building was erected; spacious engine room contained white marble slab floor, oak paneled walls, red brick fireplace of English design and a carved oak staircase. The new facility had a peak capacity of over 400 tons of cotton seed a day by 1893, was called "Largest cotto
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Historical Marker - Sherman Little Theater
Inscription. In the early 1920s, as the Little Theater movement was developing in Texas, a group of Sherman citizens formed a community theater to present dramatic productions to local audiences. In December 1925, Sherman joined the growing ranks of Texas cities with a Little Theater group. Architect Rollin M. Rolfe, who served as first president, Austin College professor Francis Emerson and businessman James Fant were instrumental in guiding the organization to its early growth and success. Th
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Historical Marker - Trinity United Presbyterian Church
Inscription. In the 19th century, Protestant denominations began sending representatives into Texas to organize new churches. By 1850, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church had established seven congregations in Grayson County. The following year, the Rev. W.A. Provine led Sherman residents in organizing their own church, which began meeting in 1852 in the Masonic Lodge Hall, which was used by several local congregations. After subsequently using space at the Methodist Church, the Cumberland cong
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Grayson County Courthouse 1930
The burning of the Grayson County Courthouse.
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Historical Marker-Grayson County
Inscription. In the mainstream of Texas history for more than a century, this area was, in 1837, the site of Colonel Holland Coffee's trading post, a landmark structure at the Preston Bend crossing of the Red River. It was a focal point, beginning in 1842, for settlers of the important Peters' Colony. In 1846 the county was created from part of Fannin County by the 1st State Legislature. It was named for Peter W. Grayson, who immigrated to Texas in 1830, served in the Texas Revolution, and was a
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