We are a non-profit local history museum located in a Carnegie Library building that opened in 1915 which is both a Texas Historical Landmark and is on the National Registry of Historic Places. There are three WPA oil-on-wood paintings in the building which were done by Texas artist, James Swann, who personally oversaw their hanging in 1934 and where they remain today.
The museum has both temporary and permanent exhibits which display the collection of over 50,000 objects, 9,000+ of which most are historic photographs.
To complement our local history focus, we have a summer program called Dino Days, where we bring in dinosaurs and/or ice age fossils to display for or patrons. This allows us to focus on STEM projects with students (and adults) through events like "Bring your rock (and fossils) to the museum day" (where professionals can tell you what you have) and "Night at the Museum" (a flashlight tour of fossils).
The Museum also hosts various events like book signings for local authors and brown bag lunch lectures. We also provide group tours to schools, clubs and groups. The staff is happy to assist visitors with research requests. There is a small admission for normal daily visitation, and donations are gratefully accepted to help cover events.
We acquire, preserve, and exhibit artifacts of cultural, historical and educational value which are associated with the founding and growth of Sherman and Grayson County.
In 1976, in honor of the Bi-Centennial, a group of local concerned citizens formed a museum association to gather the history of the area for preservation. They asked the City of Sherman, TX for permission to use the old Carnegie Library building which had stood vacant for several years after the new library opened. The museum opened in 1976 as the Sherman Historical Museum; later changed to the Red River Historical Museum, and now The Sherman Museum. The museum was manned by volunteers until the mid-1980s when the first "paid" director, Sherri S. McLeRoy, was hired. In 1993 she published "Black Land, Red River" a history of Grayson County which we sell in the museum gift store today. In 2005, at the request of the Friends of the Museum, the City of Sherman placed the building and the museum collection permanently in the hands of the Friends who had acted as managers since 1976. In 2011 an elevator was added to the Carnegie building. Future plans also include the restoration of the former Walnut Street Church of Christ building, adjacent to the Carnegie, which was donated to the museum in 1985, and is now used to store the archives.
Artifact Collections:
9,000+ historic photographs
quilts and textiles
Relics from Woodman Circle Home
vintage clothing
Artifacts from Sophia Porter
Farm implements and ranch house furnishings
Pre-Victorian and Victorian furniture
43 black & white prints from the Erwin E. Smith collection of photographs
Area fossils from dinosaurs to sea life to Mammoth bones
Programs:
Occasional lectures and book signings
Holiday crafting events for children
Dino Days (during summer break)
Group Tours available upon request
Access: General Public, Students, Scholars
Appointment required: True
The renting of the Community Room helps support the operations and special events of the Sherman Museum. The room is available for rental at the discretion of the Executive Director of the Museum. A partial kitchen, chairs and folding tables are available. Donations are always appreciated.