Sherman US Post Office and Courthouse

The U.S. Post Office and Courthouse in Sherman, Texas, is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places for its association with the federal government at the local level and as a significant example of federal architecture from the early twentieth century. From its construction in 1906-1907, the building provided a federal presence in Sherman. The building is an outstanding example of a federally designed Renaissance Revival-style government building and remains a prominent landmark in the central business district of downtown Sherman.

The city of Sherman was incorporated in 1858 but was designated the county seat of Grayson County in 1846 when the county was created by the new Texas state legislature. Sherman received its name from this same legislative action, which required the town to be named in honor of Texas military hero General Sidney A. Sherman. General Sherman, who was a lieutenant colonel at the Battle of San Jacinto, is credited with raising the battle cry, "Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad."

Sherman's postal history is known to have begun as early as 1847 when the first log cabin county courthouse built near the homestead of Benjamin Hambright also served the postal needs of the newly created community. A local trader, James Thompson, served as the first county judge and postmaster. The use of this building as a courthouse was short-lived, though. Sometime between 1848 and 1850, County Representative T. J. Shannon secured permission for the state legislature to relocate the town site to Sherman's present location. Before a new courthouse could be constructed, the court was held under a large pecan tree that stood in an area that would become the courthouse square. Some historical accounts suggest that the pecan tree served as Sherman's second post office since mail was said to have been hung from its branches; other accounts, however, relate that the log cabin at the original town site continued to operate as the post office even after the town was moved.

By 1852, Sherman's population reached 400. The courthouse square had grown to include several businesses on the east side, a tavern and saloon on the west side, and a small log post office and district clerk's office on the south side. The town's development during the 1850s was largely due to its emergence as a merchandising center. Sherman's two wagon trails allowed for the shipping of goods to Louisiana, Oklahoma Territory, Missouri, and Arkansas markets.

Local mail service improved dramatically in 1858 with the arrival of the Butterfield Overland Stage. The overland stage route went from St. Louis to San Francisco, stopping in a number of communities along the route, including Sherman. The company was contracted to provide mail delivery to locations across the country within 25 days of mailing.

During the 1860s and 1870s, Sherman continued to advance as a market center, and its population rose to over 6,000.' Cotton and grain production was central to the community's early success. The opening of flour mills and tanneries, including one of the largest tanneries in the state, perpetuated its growth and development. Sherman received its first railroad service, the Houston and Texas Central Railway, in 1872. In 1875, however, Sherman suffered two devastating fires that destroyed two-thirds of the downtown area. Construction in the wake of the fires used more permanent materials, such as brick, in the replacement of lost structures. These new buildings, among which was the sixth Grayson County courthouse completed in 1876, gave the town a modern look. During this period, the location of Sherman's post office is unclear. However, both the 1887-1888 and 1891-1892 city directories list the post office address as the southwest corner of S. Crockett and W. Houston streets.

By 1900, Sherman's population had reached 10,243.2 Railroads continued to show interest in the growing town. The Missouri Kansas (1897) and Frisco railways (1901) arrived in Sherman around the turn of the century. The Cotton Belt railway, which reached Sherman in 1888, allowed its track to be used by the Gulf Colorado and Santa Fe railroad in 1904. The city of Sherman and its citizens took great pride in the community's success in the early 1900s, and a number of city improvements were undertaken. The streets around the square were paved in 1905, sidewalks were constructed and cisterns were covered in 1906.

Perhaps the most significant event indicative of Sherman's growth and development during this period was the construction of the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse. Plans to build a combined post office and federal courthouse were underway as early as 1902. The anticipated expansion of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas into a sixth division, which was to be located in Sherman, contributed to the movement to have a federal building built within its locale.

Approval for the Sherman division of the eastern district court was formalized in 1903 after Congressional approval for the purchase of a site and construction of the building came in mid-1902. The first appropriation was for $150,000. Although this figure was later decreased to $125,000, the final appropriation was $145,000. The site selected for the location of the new U.S. Post Office and Courthouse was at the northeast corner of Pecan and Travis streets, a prominent intersection in downtown Sherman. This location met with the approval of Sherman's citizens. According to the Sherman Daily Register,
It is doubtful in the extreme if ever an announcement made from Washington has so entirely met the approval of the whole people of any locality, as this one has that of the citizens of Sherman. The universal verdict is that the selection made is the only fitting one in the city.

The property was purchased in 1903 for $11,949. A small number of businesses-a confectioner, a barber, and a physician were displaced by the sale. In July 1905, Supervising Architect James Knox Taylor of the Treasury Department advertised for bids for the construction of the building. The contract was awarded to the F. L. Stevenson Contract Company of Dallas, in the amount of $111,390. March 1, 1907, was set as the deadline for the completion of construction.

By January 1906, excavation of the site was well underway. A small force of stonemasons worked hard to prepare granite, quarried in Burnett, Texas, for use in the building's base. While the weather seems to have caused at least one delay, a photograph dated January 1907 indicates that construction of the structure was complete by that date. It is not clear, however, when the building was actually occupied by its federal tenants. Utility bills and payments for furniture, lighting fixtures, window shades, and landscaping began in April 1907 and extended over a several-month period." This information suggests that tenants moved into the building in the latter half of 1907.

Since its completion in 1907, the Sherman U.S. Post Office and Courthouse have continuously served the federal judicial needs of Sherman as well as those of Collin, Cook, Denton, and Grayson counties. The first resident judge to serve in the building under the Sherman division of the eastern judicial district was David E. Bryant, 1890-1910, appointed by President Benjamin Harrison. Before his appointment, Judge Bryant served as the District Attorney for Sherman. He was succeeded by Randolph Bryant, who was appointed to the bench by President Herbert Hoover in 1931. The third and current judge to serve as a resident judge for the eastern district in Sherman is Paul N. Brown, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1985. Earlier in his career, Judge Brown served as U.S. Attorney (1959-1961) for the eastern district.

The other major tenant of the 1907 federal building was the U.S. Post Office, which occupied the majority of the first floor for more than 50 years. The first postmaster to serve in the building was Tom Richards. In 1962, however, the postal service outgrew the 1907 structure and moved to another location. With the exception of the lobby, the space formerly occupied by the post office has been renovated and is now occupied by other federal tenants.