Sherwood is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Irion County Irion County ( ) is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,513. Its county seat is Mertzon. The county is named for Robert Anderson Irion, a secretary of state of the R ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States. It served as the county seat until 1939, when it was supplanted by neighboring Mertzon.

History

Sherwood was founded in 1886, and when Irion County was organized in 1889, it became the county's seat of government and a courthouse was built. The town received a post office in 1881, with William S. Kelly as first postmasterSchmidt, Walter G. (1993) ''An Encyclopaedia of Texas Post Offices'', p. 194. Chicago, Illinois: The Collectors' Club of Chicago. and by 1900 the population exceeded 300. When the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway built a line across the county in 1910, Sherwood was bypassed and the new railroad town of Mertzon was established. As was the case with many small towns bypassed in the early days of rail transportation, Sherwood was essentially doomed. Commerce soon began to move to Mertzon, and in 1939 the seat of government relocated there as well. Today, Sherwood is home to an estimated 73 residents; the former Irion County Courthouse, built in 1901, still stands at the center of town and functions as a community center. The post office closed in 1974.

References

Handbook of Texas Online entry for Sherwood.
Populated places in Irion County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas Populated places established in 1886 1886 establishments in Texas {{IrionCountyTX-geo-stub