Sherman County

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm just along for the ride. Alright, settle in, because this one reaches back before there was much of anything out on the high plains of Texas. Sherman County.

Formed from Young and Bexar Territories, carved out and created on August 21, 1876. Now, that's the creation. But creating a county and actually organizing one are two different things entirely, and Sherman County sat out there, official on paper, waiting a good while before it got itself organized.

That day came on June 13, 1889. Thirteen years is a long time for a county to just exist in theory. The land had opinions about it, clearly.

Now, the name. Sherman County was named in honor of General Sidney Sherman, born in 1805, died in 1873. And the name carries weight, because General Sherman was no background figure in the story of Texas.

He commanded the Left Wing of the Army at the Battle of San Jacinto. The Battle of San Jacinto. You don't get a bigger moment than that in Texas history, and this man was commanding a wing of that army.

He also served as a Member of the Texas Congress, from 1842 to 1843. A soldier and a statesman. When they finally got around to organizing the county in 1889, they named Coldwater as the county seat.

Fresh organized, fresh named seat. But Coldwater didn't hold that title forever. Since 1901, the county seat has been Stratford.

And that's where it sits to this day. A county named for a general who stood at San Jacinto, finally settled into itself out on the Texas plains, with Stratford holding the keys.

What the marker says

Formed from Young and Bexar Territories; Created August 21, 1876; Organized June 13, 1889; Named in Honor of General Sidney Sherman 1805-1873; Commander of the Left Wing of the Army at the Battle of San Jacinto; Member of the Texas Congress 1842-1843; County Seat, Coldwater, 1889; Stratford, Since 1901