The Sherman Museum was founded in 1976 by a group of civic-minded citizens who were concerned about the loss of heritage in the area. The City of Sherman leased the historic Carnegie Library building to the founding group and volunteers ran the museum until the late 1980s when the first experienced museum personnel were hired. In the late 1980s, a second facility was acquired, an historic Church o
f Christ building situated next door to the Carnegie, to be used for storage of the 50,000-plus objects in the collection. The most significant feature of the Church of Christ facility are the 48 original stained glass windows. The Carnegie boasts of three oil on wood paintings, by Texas artist James Swann, that were hung in the building in 1934. Both buildings became a recorded Texas Historical Landmark in 1986 and, in 1990, the Carnegie building was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places. In 2005, the City of Sherman transferred ownership of the Carnegie Building and the museum collection to the Friends of the Red River Historical Museum. With the introduction of education and outreach programs during the 1990s, the museum has striven to meet future goals and responsibilities to the public. Off-site exhibits, children's workshops, travelling exhibits which are available to schools, clubs and organizations; all allow the museum to reach a greater number of people in the community. Museum staff are currently involved with the computerization of the collection and have completed over 14,000 documents, 9,000 historic photographs and 800 books.
