Sherman County is such an awesome community to explore! Check out some of our county's facts below.
- Kansas State Legislature named Sherman County after General Sherman in 1873.
- Mr. and Mrs. Joseph F. Collier are credited as the first actual residents and erected the first building in the county in 1882. Their granddaughter Mrs. Artie (Melstrom) Franklin was the first person born in Sherman County on Feb. 23, 1883.
- Gandy was the first town established in Sherman County by Dr. J.L. Gandy in June 1885.
- The first newspaper in the county was “The Tecumseh” from Gandy and was published on November 11, 1885.
- The “Homesteaders Union Association” or H.U.A. was an organization founded in secret to help protect farmers and homesteaders from the stray range cattle that would and could destroy their crops in minutes. The plaque hangs in the Sherman County Courthouse today.
- The first building placed in Goodland was the Sherman Hotel owned and moved from Sherman County by E. Thorsen.
- The Chicago Kansas and Nebraska Railroad came through Goodland on July 3, 1888.
- On Aug. 5, 1900, two men robbed a Union Pacific passenger train on its way to Limon and escaped to Goodland where they made their way to the D.E. Bartholomew farm. A posse organized by the Sheriff went to the house to apprehend the robbers – this led to a shootout and both robbers died.
- William Purvis and Charles Wilson filed for a patent in 1909 for America’s First Patented Helicopter.
- John Phillip Sousa and President Howard Taft are just two notable people who traveled on special trains through Goodland.
- The Stained Glass Window at the Goodland Public Library was made and dedicated to Charles J. Winsell who was killed when a girder struck his head.
- Dr. Marion J. Renner was known as the “Flying Doctor” and would travel to his patients via plane rather than car. The Goodland Airport is named after Dr. Renner.
- The weather bureau was established in 1919 by Frank J. Horton where observations were recorded at 6:00 AM and PM.
- Kanorado has a Rock Island Railroad Caboose – it is open to the public for tours.
- Eight painted peacocks and roses in the Sherman Theatre were covered in 1928 have recently been uncovered and restored to their 1928 glory.
- “Rural Free Delivery” was painted by Kenneth Adams and installed on March 4, 1937 in the Post Office as part of the New Deal’s Federal Works Agency.
- By 1931, more than 1,000 telephones were being used in Goodland and the United Telephone Building was built in 1931. It has been restored today by the Sherman County Historical Society to house the Parker Holbrook Research Center.
- Goodland’s Grand Opera House sat on the southwest corner of 10th and Main. The most notable actor to perform in Goodland was probably Milburn Stone who was famous for paying “Doc” on the television series Gunsmoke. Today the building houses the Goodland Churches Thrift Store.
- The Carnegie Arts Center was built in 1913 to house the Goodland Public Library. In 1983 it became and arts center and was added to the National and State Registers of Historic Places in 1985.
- The G.E. Fike Grain Elevator, located at Caruso, was the county’s first building to be built from steel and concrete. It originally held 65,000 bushels and opened for business on October 1, 1923.
- The Kidder Massacre occurred July 2, 1867 in northeast Sherman County. 11 military men and one Lakota scout were killed by Lakota and Cheyenne warriors.
