Sherwood

How Sherwood began

Sherwood was laid out in 1875 on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad by William Taylor and William Rock, with about seventy-five lots north of the track; Elias Miller added seventy-two lots south of it in 1879, and the Miller brothers built its first store. The county history says it took its name from Secretary Sherwood, meaning Isaac R. Sherwood, Ohio's Secretary of State, though a 1990 Bryan Times item cited by Wikipedia gives a local Civil War general. A Methodist church of about 1868 and a United Brethren society of 1874 (church built 1879) served it. Sherwood had 195 residents in 1880, 455 in 1900, 915 in 1980 and 802 in 2020.

Settled 1870s, platted 1875 (north of the railroad); 1879 (south of the railroad), by William Taylor and William Rock; Elias Miller.

Where the name comes from

Warner's 1883 county history says the village took its name from Secretary Sherwood, that is, Isaac R. Sherwood (1835-1925), Ohio's Secretary of State in the 1870s, who is also named in the county's Civil War rolls as a major. Wikipedia notes a conflicting 1990 Bryan Times headline saying it was named for a local Civil War general.

Before the town

No Native village, trail or treaty site specific to Sherwood was found; the village was platted in the 1870s, more than half a century after the 1817 Treaty of Fort Meigs opened this part of the county to settlement.

Timeline

1. 1868 — The Methodist Episcopal church is built about this year at the future site of Sherwood, organized by Elias Miller and others with the local preacher Rev. Archibald Robertson.
2. 1874 — The United Brethren organize a society at Sherwood under Rev. Jonas Lower, after camp meetings on the site a few years earlier; Eli Kaser is class leader.
3. 1875 — William Taylor and William Rock lay out the village on the Baltimore & Ohio line with about seventy-five lots north of the railroad; the Miller brothers build the first store.
4. 1879 — Elias Miller lays out seventy-two lots south of the railroad; the United Brethren class completes a church costing $1,350, with a Sabbath school of 110 and 38 members.
5. 1880 — The village's census population is recorded at 195.
6. 1883 — Warner's county history reports Sherwood has one schoolhouse and that Methodists and United Brethren unite in Sabbath school; Elias Miller remembers having to go to Brunersburg to mill and to Defiance to trade.
7. 1900 — Population grows to 455.
8. 1910 — The census counts 566 residents in Sherwood, 543 in 1920 and 570 in 1950.
9. 1970 — The census counts 784 residents, up from 578 in 1960; the count peaks at 915 in 1980 and is 802 in 2020.

Stories

Named for Secretary Sherwood

Sherwood was laid out in 1875 on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and the 1883 county history says it took its name from Secretary Sherwood. Isaac R. Sherwood (1835-1925) enlisted in 1861 as a private in the 14th Ohio Infantry, mustered out as lieutenant colonel of the 111th Ohio Infantry, and was nominated for brevet brigadier general in 1865 for his service at the Battle of Franklin. He was Ohio Secretary of State from 1869 to 1873 and served in the U.S. House from 1873 to 1875, 1907 to 1921 and 1923 to 1925. His Wikipedia biography says he refused to support the declaration of war in 1917 and the draft, and that he lost his 1920 reelection bid. Wikipedia's article on the village also cites a 1990 Bryan Times piece headlined as naming the village for a local Civil War general, which it does not reconcile with that account.

Local history sources: en.wikipedia.org · archive.org · archive.org · en.wikipedia.org

Mostly private wells The water here

• Sherwood Village100% of residentsGroundwater wells (2 wells)

Fire and EMS stations (1)

Public libraries (1)

Money issues on the ballot since 2019: 1 of 1 passed; of those asking for new or higher taxes, 1 of 1.

Ballot issues

Elections for office

Winners in bold. Results from the county board of elections' official canvass unless marked.

Auditor of State record

• No fiscal caution, watch or emergency on the Auditor of State's lists.
• Agreed Upon Procedures, 2022 to 2023, released 2024-08-20

Source: Ohio EPA eDocument portal (edocpub.epa.ohio.gov), indexed 2026-10-14. Facilities are placed on the map from Ohio EPA's own map layers, EPA's Facility Registry, coordinates written in the filings, or a geocoded street address. A permit filed under a private person's name (most are household septic systems) is counted but never named, placed or linked; licenses for individual workers and open-burning notices are left out entirely.

Cite this page