Sherman County, Kansas

Sherman County, in the western tier, the second South of Nebraska, is bounded on the North by Cheyenne County; on the East by Thomas County; on the South by Wallace and Logan Counties; and on the West by the State of Colorado.

Sherman County was initially attached to Sheridan County for judicial purposes,

The general surface is undulating prairie, with a few bluffs and some rough lands along Beaver Creek and in the western part of the county. Kanorado is the highest point in the state, at an altitude of 3,906 feet. Timber was scarce, existing only in thin belts along the North Fork of the Smoky Hill River and on the middle fork of the Sappa Creek. Beaver Creek, Little Beaver, and both forks of Sappa Creek rise in this county, and the North Fork of the Smoky Hill River passes from Colorado into the South part of the county, and out of it into Wallace County.

Initially inhabited by Native Americans, the area now known as Sherman County became home to J.F. Collier, a buffalo bone gatherer. He moved to the area in 1879, but did not establish a residence until 1882.

Other settlers, John Bray and a Mr. Darling, arrived in western Kansas in the spring of 1880 to establish ranches. Mr. Bray’s sheep ranch was on Beaver Creek, and Mr. Darling’s horse-and-cattle ranch was on the North Fork of the Smoky Hill River. The homes established on these ranches were the first in Sherman County.

In 1882, Barney McClusky established a cattle ranch on Beaver Creek, W.T. Clayton established a cattle ranch in the northeastern part of the county, and Mr. Holmes and Mr. Cox established a sheep ranch on the Smoky Hill River at about the same time. All of the gentlemen were the first settlers, and hundreds more joined them in the years that followed.

As prairie schooners began their westward sail from Colby or Oberlin, immigrants were gladdened to see the almost level surface and the dark, rich-looking soil.

The first town, Inez, was laid out at the county’s geographic center in about 1880. It sat near the North Fork of the Sappa River, at the county’s geographic center. Four miles North was Big Indian Springs, a large expanse of water. However, Inez had disappeared before the county was organized in 1886. Big Indian Springs is also gone.

People settled in the northern part of the county first, where several ranches could be “proved up.”

Dr. J.L. Gandy established Gandy as Sherman County’s first town in June 1885. The Tecumseh, Sherman County’s first newspaper, began publication there on November 11, 1885.

By the end of the year, the county had 2,605 head of livestock valued at $12,138.

The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad issued a charter to the Chicago, Kansas, and Nebraska Railroad on March 19, 1886, to build tracks into Colorado. The railroad built tracks to Goodland and onto the Colorado border.

Early in the spring of 1885, several men, with P.S. Eustis and O.R. Phillips at the head, organized the Lincoln Land Company and laid out the town of Eustis.

By then, the influx of new settlers had made the population large enough to organize the county. The citizens of Voltaire tried to organize before the newer settlers in the Southwest part of the county were eligible to vote, hoping to have their town made the county seat. In June, they secured the appointment of O.T. McCormick as census taker, and he was instructed to make all possible haste in the enumeration so that the election to complete the organization could be held no later than the middle of September. He did not make his returns until August 30, and the people of Voltaire, learning that he had been given several lots in the town of Eustis, ascribed the delay to that fact. The returns showed a population of 2,820, of whom 975 were householders.

Itasca soon moved to Shermanville, which was later called Sherman Center. Voltaire also tried to move, and the Voltaire newspaper strongly favored joining forces against Eustis and making Sherman Center the county seat. About half of Voltaire’s residents moved. On November 8, 1886, Sherman County voters elected which town would serve as the temporary county seat: Sherman Center or Eustis. Those who had remained in Voltaire sided with Eustis, which won by 61 votes. The following officers were elected: county clerk, G.W. Benson; sheriff, R.G. Albright; treasurer, J.E. Rule; superintendent of public instruction, F.S. Palmer; register of deeds, E. W. Penny; county attorney, W.K. Brown; probate judge, L.E. Tobias; clerk of the district court, P.C. Brown; surveyor, L.M. Harwood; coroner, A. E. Tice; commissioners, C.E. Bennett, John Bray, and E.L. Lyons. Eustis then began constructing a courthouse.

At their first meeting, the commissioners divided the county into six townships: Grant, Voltaire, Shermanville, McPherson, Itasca, and Washington. Later, they organized Iowa, Lincoln, Llanos, Logan, Smoky, State Line, and Union, bringing the total to 13. The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad crossed the center of the county from East to West, a distance of 36 miles.

By the end of the year, the county had 4,409 head of livestock, valued at $100,087. Field crops amounted to $82,628, the wool clip to $1,548, the produce to $2,000, and the milk sold to $100.

In the spring of 1887, Goodland was founded just South of the county’s geographic center and not far from Sherman Center. The latter town was induced to move to the new site. The county seat question was voted on again in November 1887. The vote was not properly canvassed, and the Supreme Court issued a mandamus the next spring to compel a canvass of all the election returns. The court found that Goodland had a majority, and the town became the permanent county seat. Eustis then moved to Goodland, and the county seat contest ended.

By 1893, the Sherman County Immigration Association was established to promote the area.

In 1900, the county had dropped to 3,341, and the entire population was white, with 8.9% foreign-born.

Over the next decade, the county’s population increased, and by 1910, it had reached 4,549. Property was assessed at $9,343,387 that year. The average wealth per capita was $2,054, several hundred dollars above the state average. That year, livestock was valued at $1,035,082, and the number of head was 19,756. The value of animals sold for slaughter in the same year was over $66,000; the value of corn, the largest field crop, was $158,214; barley, $126,694; wheat, $137,569; hay, $94,863; sorghum, $45,465; oats, $22,540; poultry and eggs, $18,203; dairy products, $53,230. The total value of farm products in 1910 was $776,149.