Sherwood

History

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. A small community called Kitchen's Station or Catchings Station had existed as a Stagecoach stop earlier at the location. Named for station master Meridith Catchings, the small community began appearing on railroad maps after the Civil War. The town of Sherwood was named for Charles D. Sherwood, lieutenant governor of Minnesota during the Civil War. The Tennessee State Legislature approved his charter for the Tennessee Immigration and Land Company on April 15, 1878. That same day, Sherwood purchased the 1,410 acres of land for his northern colony from John F. Anderson. On June 19, 1878, a local paper announced that the name of Kitchen's [Catching's] Station would be changed to Sherwood. A number of sources have erroneously reported that Charles Sherwood was lieutenant governor of Wisconsin and that the town was established in 1875. This information probably came from the Goodspeed History Tennessee: Giles, Franklin, Lincoln, and Moore Counties. In 1989 the Sherwood Elementary School was closed and approximately 25-28 children from Sherwood, a teacher, and several aides became part of the Sewanee Public School community. With the construction of the strategically important Cowan Tunnel to the north in 1852, train stops were created through the Crow Creek Valley, including at Catchings Station…

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