Editing Sherman, Mississippi (section)

==History==
In 1840 Reuben Jones and John Witt settled what is now the Sherman community fourteen miles northeast of Pontotoc, however the town owes its formation and growth to the building of the old [[Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham Railroad]]. When the operation of trains was begun on the newly built railroad in 1886 a station was established and named Sherman by a resident who had formerly lived in [[Sherman, Texas]]. R.P. Kelly built the first home in the spring of 1886. Other citizens and businessmen of the town were John Witt, J.E. Wade, and John Johnson.

The Mississippi Normal Institute was founded in 1889 by Professor J.N. Davis and a boarding house was maintained in connection with the institute. The institute flourished for several years with an enrollment of 300 but with the development of the public school system its patronage dwindled and about 1903 it was consolidated with the public school at Sherman.

The following excerpt from the ''Pontotoc Democrat'' of September 19, 1890, describes the town: "Ninety-four miles from Memphis, 158 miles from Birmingham on the K C M & B Railroad is the thriving little town of Sherman. Her population has almost doubled in the last twelve months. She is surrounded by the best fanning lands in the State. She has 35 dwellings, 6 stores, 2 doctors, no graveyards, a ~40,000 school building and destined to be the Jupiter in the educational world.”<ref>[http://msgw.org/pontotoc/communities/algocommunity.htm Origin of Sherman, Mississippi], msgw.org; accessed September 13, 2015.</ref>