Sherman, MS

Mississippi's Sherman is a small town with an unusual county-line map: its limits cross Lee, Pontotoc, and Union counties. Reuben Jones and John Witt settled the area in 1840, yet the town took shape after the Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham Railroad reached it. A station opened in 1886 and took the name Sherman from a resident familiar with Sherman, Texas. The 2020 census counted 600 residents. Most of the town lies in Pontotoc County, with smaller pieces reaching into Union and Lee counties.

That split shows up in everyday arrangements. Three school districts serve the town according to the county line, with Pontotoc County schools covering most households and Union County schools serving the northern portion. Sherman sits northwest of Tupelo, north of Interstate 22 and south of Mississippi Highway 178, so trips out of town follow a network built around county roads and the old rail corridor. Homes, churches, and school routes are spread through the community instead of gathered in a large commercial center. Sherman's character comes from the combination of an 1880s railroad town and a modern jurisdiction divided among three counties.