Sherman’s post office opened in 1859, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 30% of U.S. towns · #552 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Sherman was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. Its Register listings are the Cornelius Flagg Farmstead and the Route 66 by Carpenter Park. Below: maps from 1907 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Sherman post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Sherman’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sherman is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #552 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sherman’s overall grade.
Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Sherman’s 6.8 sits above most of its state (79% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Sherman’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sherman. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1907Springfield sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Sherman.
The story so far
Sherman, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Sherman yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Sherman is a village in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,673 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield metropolitan statistical area. In 2023 the village was hit by a high end EF-2 tornado in the March 31st outbreak.
Its first post office opened in 1859. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 4,148 to 4,673 (+13%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Sherman in 1881
Passages that mention Sherman, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Sangamon County, Illinois1881 · page 1046Read the page →
Read the text
Meredith Cooper first settled in Fancy Creek, and previous to 1830, settled a mile and a half east of the present village of Sherman, and died there. His widow lives near there. Michael Mann, a Baptist minister, settled on Bection twenty-seven, previous to 1830. He subsequently moved to Logan county, where he died.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Sangamon County, Illinois1881 · page 898Read the page →
Read the text
James Sayles came in the spring of 1819, settled near the present village of Sherman, and died on the place. Alex. Crawford lived here for a time at an early day, moved to Petersburg, and there died.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
No old photos in the archives yet
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
The Sherman post office opened in 1859, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Sherman rank for history?
Sherman is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #552 of 768 in Illinois. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Sherman?
Two places: the Cornelius Flagg Farmstead (listed 1993) and the Route 66 by Carpenter Park (2002).
How old are the homes in Sherman?
0.0% of Sherman’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 2001.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
