Grayson

Formed March 17, 1846 (58^th county)

Grayson County (120,877), Sherman (38,521)                

1936 is the year the latest Modern and Art Deco courthouse for Grayson County was constructed.  Designed by Voelcker and Dixon, this is the seventh county courthouse for Grayson County and Sherman since the March 17, 1846 founding of the county (1847, 1848, 1850, 1853, 1859, 1876 and 1936.)  Grayson County was taken from Fannin County as the 58^th county.  The facility is located four blocks east of United States Highway 75 on Texas State Highway 56.  It is on a square between Houston and Lamar streets.  The building was enlarged in 1963.  A Justice Center was added in 1984.  Grayson is named for Peter William Grayson, early Texas entrepreneur and diplomat.  Sherman gets its name from Sidney Sherman who fought at the Battle of San Jacinto.  He is also the namesake of Sherman County. 

Grayson County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners.  Three District Court Judges and Three County Court Judges serve Grayson County.  The county is located on the northern border of the state with the Red River serving as a border with Oklahoma.  The Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas Metroplex is south and west.  The county center is 7.3 miles Northwest of Sherman nearer Knollwood.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Oklahoma and Fannin, Collin, Denton, and Cooke counties.  Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34^th President of the United States, was born in Denison in the north part of the county. 

The area of the county is 979 square miles.  It is 88 out of 254 in the state.  It ranks 34 out of 254 in population in the state.  It has a density of 123.47 persons per square mile making it 39 out of 254 in the state.  Grayson County has 68.2% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 69 enters from Oklahoma, north, and exits to Fannin County, southeast.  United States Highway 75 crosses north to south from Oklahoma with United States Highway 69, splits at Denison, and continues south to Collin County.  United States Highway 82 goes from Fannin County on the east to Cooke County on the west.  United States Highway 377 transits north to south from Oklahoma into Denton County.  The county is a tall rectangle on three sides with the exception being the river border on the north.  Sherman is slightly east of the county center.  Sherman is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 31.9% of the county population.  This county is in the Sherman-Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Whitewright