M.W. Benschoter and C.E. Rosseter met in the fall of 1872 at Rosseter's hotel in Grand Island. They had an idea. They wanted to plan the organization of a new county, Sherman County. They enlisted the help of one A. Abbott, a young lawyer who had come to Grand Island the year before. Mr. Abbott sent a letter to the legislature requesting permission to organize. The petition held twenty signatures. On March 3, 1873, an election was held to determine who would hold county offices. Sherman County was named after General William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891) a famous Union General in the Civil War.

The present Sherman County courthouse was dedicated in 1921. John Ohlsen, a local contractor, was given the contract on April 5, 1920 to build the new courthouse. During construction, courthouse officials rented a store on Main Street and operated from offices there. The jail was also used as a temporary office building. When the new courthouse was finally finished, October 8, 1921, it was a perfect day for the 4,000 people in attendance.

Sherman County is a square county of approximately 24 miles each way with an area of 573 square miles or 366,920 acres. It is about half way between the north and south boundaries of Nebraska, and roughly the same distance between east and west. The Middle Loup River crosses diagonally from the northwest to the southeast.