{"nrhp_refnum":"86002927","name":"Old Sherman Public Library","other_names":["Sherman Historical Society"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"301 S. Walnut","address_restricted":false,"city":"Sherman","county":"Grayson County","state":"TX","lat":33.634725712000034,"lon":-96.60705505699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-10-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A raised one-story brick Carnegie library building at 301 South Walnut in Sherman, Grayson County, Texas, built in 1914-1915 and designed by local architect John Tulloch. It now houses the Sherman Historical Museum and is owned by the City of Sherman.","why_significant":"The building is argued to be the major surviving example of Classical Revival architecture in Sherman and the city's first permanent public library facility. It is one of only 16 remaining Carnegie-funded libraries of the 33 built in Texas. Its 1934 Public Works of Art murals of Greek muses add to its importance.","narrative":"Built in 1914-1915 at 301 South Walnut, this brick Carnegie library served Sherman as its public library for 57 years. Andrew Carnegie offered the city $20,000 in 1914, following years of effort by the Sherman Shakespeare Club to establish a free library. Local architect John Tulloch designed the Classical Revival building, and contractor Jerry Wall built it. A limestone aedicule with Tuscan columns marks the entrance, and Tuscan columns also divide the main reading room. Only 16 of the 33 Carnegie libraries built in Texas survive. In 1934 Dallas artist Jimmie Swann presented three Greek-themed murals of the muses of music, painting, and literature, which remain in the building. After the library moved in 1973, the city declared the building surplus, and a citizen group converted it into the Sherman Historical Museum, which opened on July 4, 1976. The building remains largely unaltered and is still used for museum exhibits and civic meetings.","period_of_significance":"1914-1915","architect_builder":"John Tulloch/Jerry Wall","architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in use as the Sherman Historical Museum; exterior essentially unchanged since 1915 apart from added wrought-iron burglar bars and a banister.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:21.640493-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/71/9721/40972171/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/86002927.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86002927/d25e78b2f5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86002927/d25e78b2f5-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Michael Barera","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sherman_July_2016_41_(The_Sherman_Museum).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Michael Barera</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sherman_July_2016_41_(The_Sherman_Museum).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972171","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107321848"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/grayson-county/old-sherman-public-library-86002927/"}