Sherman Manufacturing Company
Sherman, Grayson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Sherman Seamless Bag Mill was founded here in 1891, to serve the cotton industry of North Central Texas. Elected to board of directors on March 18, 1891, were C. A. Andrews, Edward Eastburn, W. C. Eubank, Thomas Forbes, J. F. Jaques, J. C. Jones, Tom Randolph, Z. E. Raney, and J. C. Tassey to serve as chairman. Elegant cornerstone was shipped from Cromwell, Mass., to go into the original structure. Suffering from financial problems during those early years, the plant operated and closed intermittently. Acquired in 1906 by Wellington-Sears Company of New York who added buildings and centered production upon single-filling flat duck. Purchased, 1946, by Ely Walker & Company of St. Louis, Missouri; wide sheeting became main product. Merged into Burlington Industries, Inc., 1955. Cornerstone of original building opened 1956. Disclosed old coins, 1891 newspapers, timetable for trains to Indian territory (now state of Oklahoma), saloon tokens and menu from Binkley Hotel Coffee Shop. A portion of the original structure remains as a useful part of this modern plant. Through Burlington's International organization, products made here are sold in market places throughout the world. (1967)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Founded in 1891 as the Sherman Seamless Bag Mill, this plant rose to serve the booming cotton industry of North Central Texas. After rocky early years of intermittent operation, it was acquired by out-of-state textile firms, expanded its product lines to heavy duck and wide sheeting, and eventually merged into Burlington Industries in 1955. When the original cornerstone was opened in 1956, it revealed old coins, 1891 newspapers, and saloon tokens—small time capsules of the frontier town.
Why it matters
The mill shows how a Gilded Age cotton town wove itself into national and eventually global industry, a common arc for Southern manufacturing.
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Themes & tags
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