Who's Who of Crow Creek Valley

Charles Daniel Sherwood

Born: Nov. 18, 1833
Died: July 3, 1895
Burial:
Place of birth: New Milford, Conn.
Mother:Fanny Shove
Father:Daniel Sherwood
????Spouse#1: Caroline Antoinette Sherwood, Married June 11, 1854
Spouse#2: Charlotte Phoebe Ferris, Married March 29, 1857

Charles Daniel Sherwood was a farmer, newspaperman, and Republican legislator. He was the youngest Speaker of the House in Minnesota at the age of 29. Served as Lt. Governor January 11, 1864 until January 8, 1866.

(Note: Goodspeeds History of Franklin County erroneously says that Sherwood was Lt. Gov. of Wisconsin.)

Charles D. Sherwood

By Dan Hardison

During the Civil War C.D. Sherwood is said to have camped in Crow Creek Valley during the march into Chattanooga. Struck with the beauty of the valley and the rich natural resources of the area, he planned to return to the valley someday. It would be 1875 before he returned to the valley to establish the town of Sherwood.

Charles D. (C.D.) Sherwood was born in New Brighton, Connecticut in 1833. He married Charlotte Ferriss while living in Connecticut and in 1856 moved to Sumner Township in western Fillmore County, Minnesota. Sherwood became a member of the state legislature in 1859 at the age of 25 and went on to serve in both branches of the state legislature. From 1864 to 1866, he served as Lieutenant-Governor of Minnesota. It is noted that he worked to bring the railroad to southeastern Minnesota. In 1866, he moved to South Rushford, Minnesota.

The Sherwood Land and Emigration Company was formed in 1875 with C.D. Sherwood as president. A large tract of land in Crow Creek Valley was purchased and the town of Sherwood plotted. The land was divided into lots for residences and for farming. A road was constructed from Sherwood to Sewanee so that goods could be transported in and out of the valley. At the time, the leading industry was the harvesting and shipping of chestnut-oak bark for the tanning industry. C.D. Sherwood, along with several other northern families, moved to Tennessee in 1879. The town consisted of thirty northern and ten southern families. By 1884, Sherwood had two general stores, a steam saw, a planing and shingle mill, two churches, the Sherwood Academy, one free school, and the railroad depot and offices.

Although it is not known where C.D. Sherwood was buried, it is believed he was buried in Oakwood Cemetery, a cemetery that he owned, in South Rushford, Fillmore County, Minnesota.

The New York Times
July 4, 1895

Chicago, July 3 - Dr. C. D. Sherwood, once Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, and later founder of the town of Sherwood, Tenn. early this morning drowned himself in the lake near Park Place.

Dr. Sherwood had been ill for several months. Remittances of money that he expected did not arrive and he became despondent.