E.A. Sherman, the Father of the Sioux Falls Park System
Edwin Alonzo Sherman (1844-1916), the namesake of Sherman Park, was an instrumental pioneer for the development of Sioux Falls. E.A. Sherman is most notable for his role in the development of the Sioux Falls park system, including McKennan Park.
E.A. Sherman moved from Sioux City, Iowa, to Sioux Falls in June 1873. Once in Sioux Falls, Sherman entered the newspaper industry, where he was a partner in the Sioux Falls Independent. Selling his share of the newspaper in 1874 or 1875, he became the Superintendent of Minnehaha County Schools. In 1877, E.A. Sherman entered food processing business for the first time, buying what became the Cascade Milling Company. This foray eventually led him to other business ventures, including the construction of many of Philip Avenue’s first brick buildings.
Sherman’s business activities led to a short career in politics. In 1877, voters elected him Dakota Territory treasurer (1877-78), and then territorial auditor (1879-1881). He would later serve Sioux Falls as a school board member, a city commissioner, and then a state senator (1911) as a Republican. It is unclear when E.A. Sherman met Helen McKennan, but their friendship continues to have a lasting influence on the city of Sioux Falls.
E.A. Sherman was a longtime friend of Helen McKennan, the namesake of McKennan Park in Sioux Falls. Before Helen McKennan died, Sherman helped her to formulate her will and prepare the parcel of land that became McKennan Park. Upon McKennan’s death in 1906, Sherman advocated that the city accept McKennan’s land donation for a future park. When the City Council ignored his request to appoint a Park Commission, Sherman ran for City Council and won in 1907. He became president of the council and chair of the Park Committee. In 1910, Sherman and his wife donated 52 acres of land to the city of Sioux Falls to become a park. This would later be named Sherman Park that same year, and remains today.
There were no laws for the creation of park boards when Sherman was elected to the South Dakota State Legislature in 1911. So he drafted a bill to put these laws in place. In order for parks to function properly, a park board and a park system needed to be created. In 1915, state legislators passed Sherman’s Parks Bill. The bill's passage was fortuitous, as Sherman had already been focused on developing what became Sherman Park and McKennan Park.
Within Sherman Park, there are five Woodland Period burial mounds. Sherman himself laid out the road leading to the five burial mounds on the bluff, and it is still used today. Sherman also hired a caretaker and a night watchman for Sherman Park. During the summer months of 1914, the recorded attendance at Sherman Park on Sundays was between four and five thousand. At this time, the park amenities included boating, swimming, and sports such as tennis.
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