Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Sherwood

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
SherwoodTNUSA-PostOfficePhoto: Bryanmackinnon · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Sherwood

Sherwood’s post office opened in 1878

Most of Sherwood was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2001. Below: maps from 1936 on.

1878first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Bryanmackinnon · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Sherwood began

When was Sherwood founded?

1878

The Sherwood post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Catchings (1871), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 122148 years
Founding year: the first Sherwood post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Sherwood’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Sherwood are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Sherwood’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sherwood’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Sherwood came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Sherwood.

Read it all →

Human habitation in the Sherwood area is very ancient as evidenced by the many thousands of Native American projectile points in the nearby fields. The town location is at the intersection of many old Native American routes which the modern trails and roads often follow. It is located on an old Stagecoach route approximately midway between Sewanee and Anderson, Alabama and is representative of the hamlets and villages that were once commonplace in the area coves and valleys.

ChaptersThe RailroadGager Lime CompanyEpiphany Mission

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Sherwood, 1871 to 1936

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Catchings post office opens
  3. 1878Post officeThe Catchings post office closes
  4. 1878Post officeThe Sherwood post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1936On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Sherwood, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Sherwood-houses-tn12016Sherwood-houses-tn1Sherwood-full-tn12016Sherwood-full-tn1Sherwood-Post-Office-tn12016Sherwood-Post-Office-tn1Gager-Lime-Company-tn12016Gager-Lime-Company-tn1Crow-Creek-tn12016Crow-Creek-tn1Old Still Cave2013Old Still Cave
On the map

Sherwood on the map, 1936 to 1982

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sherwood. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Sherwood on the 1936 USGS mapSherwood on the 1947 USGS mapSherwood on the 1950 USGS mapSherwood on the 1982 USGS map1936Sinking Cove sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Sherwood.

Famous people

Famous people close to Sherwood

Nobody well known was born in Sherwood itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Dinah ShoreAmerican singer and actress · b. 1916
J
John TempletonAmerican-born British stock investor, businessm… · b. 1912
Jobyna RalstonAmerican actress · b. 1899
Dustin LynchAmerican singer · b. 1985
Peter TurneyAmerican politician · b. 1827
T
Tom BoltonAmerican astronomer · b. 1943
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Sherwood’s post office has been open since 1878. Another post office, Catchings, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Catchings
1871–1878
Sherwood
1878–today
18701950today
1cemetery inside Sherwood
Sherwood

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Sherwood’s history

What year was Sherwood founded?

The Sherwood post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.