Marker [104]
Grayson County
(Courthouse Square)
| In the mainstream of Texas history for more than a century, this area was, in 1837, the site of Col. Holland
Coffee's trading post, a landmark structure at the Preston Bend Crossing of the Red River. It was a focal point, beginning in 1842, for settlers of the important Peters Colony. In 1846 the county was created from part of Fannin County by an act of the First State Legislature. It was named in honor of Peter W. Grayson, who came to Texas in 1830, served with distinction in the Texas War for Independence, and was Attorney General in the Republic. Also, in 1846, the county was organized and Sherman was made the county seat. Honoree of the town name was Colonel Sidney Sherman, a hero of the Battle of San Jacinto. The town is distinguished by having had at least five courthouses and for its superior schools and colleges of the 19th century. It was once known as the "Athens of Texas." In 1858 the famous Butterfield Trail crossed the county and in the same period and later a number of cattle trails and early railroads traversed the area. Today, Lake Texoma, created 1939-1944, is a county tourist attraction. The Sherman-Denison region was named a Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area, 1967. |