Sherman City / Sherman City Union Church

Sherman City began with a log store built by E. K. Wood, Giles Gilbert, and Amos Johnson in 1869 and a sawmill built in 1870 by John T. Cahoon. Johnson, Cahoon, and others platted Sherman City between 1870 and 1873. Both the township and the city were named for Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman. An 1878 tornado destroyed much of the town, but an 1879 map shows thirty buildings, including stores, hotels, and a school. An 1899 map shows thirty-five structures, including one church. Lumber and shingle manufacturing sustained the economy. When the local forests gave out around 1900, the town went into a decline. One by one the buildings were torn down, the lumber often being reused for new homes or sheds. The last store closed during World War II (1941-1945). Sherman City Union Church The Union Church is the most visible surviving remnant of Sherman City. William L. Shupe built the church in 1885 as a meeting hall for Grand Army of the Republic Post 77. Moved to the present site in 1898, the building was renovated over the next few years to serve as a union church for all denominations. By October 1904 the building was in use as a church. Sherman City’s Union Sunday School met here, and from time to time ministers of nearby congregations also held services in the church. Abandoned by about 1960, the church was restored in 1977 through the work of volunteers. Rededicated on May 28, 1978, the church is now maintained by the Sherman City Union Church Restoration Association.