Sherwood is a ghost town

Ghost town

A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...

 in Irion County, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

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

Mertzon, Texas

Mertzon is a city in and the county seat of Irion County, Texas, United States. The population was 839 at the 2000 census. It is part of the San Angelo, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Mertzon is located at ....

.

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 postmaster and by 1900 the population exceeded 300. However, 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 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 was discontinued in 1974.