DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker records at this site in Sherman, Grayson County. Now, some corners just have a way of collecting history — the kind that stacks up in layers, one story pressed down on top of another. This corner in Sherman, Texas is one of those corners.
It started in the 1870s, when a joint stock company got itself organized with one purpose in mind: build a hotel. And one of the largest stockholders in that venture was a man named Judge C.C. Binkley — a community leader, and also the president of the Merchants and Planters Bank, which had been established right there in Sherman in 1872.
So from the very beginning, the hotel and the bank were practically family. They named the hotel after the Judge. Seemed only fitting.
But here's where the story gets a little warm — and I mean that literally. The first hotel on this site burned. Now, that's a misfortune.
The second hotel on this site also burned — and that second fire was reportedly set on purpose, to cover an attempted robbery. That's not misfortune anymore. That's a story.
So the community regrouped. The Sherman Hotel Company stepped in, built a third structure, and put a man named C.B. Dorchester — president of the bank, which had by then become the Merchants and Planters National Bank — in charge of operating the place.
And this version of the Binkley Hotel? It found its stride. That bank was no small operation.
It served farmers, ranchers, counties, and Indian tribes, growing into a financial hub for both Texas and Oklahoma. And the close ties between the bank and the hotel meant that wherever serious business gathered, the Binkley Hotel was right there in the middle of it. Then there was the Sherman Opera House next door, bringing in touring dramatic companies and drawing in the kind of popular and prominent men and women who expected a fine place to stay.
The hotel, the bank, and the opera house — they formed something rare: a functionally integrated business, civic, and cultural complex, all working together in a growing community. Now, the hotel itself was a three-story affair, and it had its own sense of decorum. Ladies would enter on the north side, at the carriage entrance, specifically arranged so they could make their way to receptions in the dining room without passing the bar.
Details like that tell you something about who this place was trying to be. And then there's 1919. Former president William Howard Taft came to Sherman and spoke briefly — from a wrought-iron balcony on the hotel's north side.
The man who had sat in the White House, standing on that balcony, addressing the people of Sherman. Not a bad afternoon for a hotel. The years kept rolling.
In 1947, the hotel's name changed to the Texas Hotel. But history has a long memory, and most folks still knew what had stood on that corner. Then 1967 arrived, and the third and final Binkley Hotel building burned.
Three hotels. Two fires. One of those fires set deliberately.
And yet for its many decades of operation, this place contributed to Sherman's development — welcomed travelers, served local residents, hosted the guests of a bank that stretched from Texas to Oklahoma, and stood shoulder to shoulder with an opera house that brought the wider world right into this corner of Grayson County. Some corners just collect history. This one earned it.
What the marker says
Site of Binkley Hotel In the 1870s, a joint stock company was organized to construct a hotel in Sherman. One of the largest stockholders was Judge C.C. Binkley, a community leader for whom the hotel would be named. Binkley was also president of the Merchants and Planters (M & P) Bank, established in Sherman in 1872. The first two hotels at this site burned, and the second fire was reportedly set to cover an attempted robbery. The next hotel was built by the Sherman Hotel Company and operated by bank president C.B. Dorchester. The bank, then the Merchants and Planters National Bank, served farmers, ranchers, counties, and Indian tribes, becoming a financial hub for Texas and Oklahoma, and the close ties between bank and hotel attracted and accommodated business in the growing community. The Sherman Opera House, which brought in touring dramatic companies, added to the list of popular and prominent men and women who visited the hotel. Ladies would enter on the north, at the carriage entrance, and avoid passing the bar on their way to receptions in the dining room of the three-story hotel. Former president William Howard Taft visited Sherman in 1919 and spoke briefly from a wrought-iron balcony on the hotel's north side. The hotel's name changed to Texas Hotel in 1947. The third and final Binkley Hotel building burned in 1967. During its many decades of operation, the business contributed to Sherman's development. The hotel, bank and opera house together formed a unique, functionally integrated business, civic and cultural complex. The hotel served the many guests of the bank and opera house and was a popular spot for travelers as well as local residents. (2002)