Sherman House

The Sherman House was built at the corner of Cass and Gratiot in 1865 for Henry Connor.  According to a subsequent deed to the parcel, the corner formerly had been known as the Empire House property.  The building, which opened to guests in August, 1866, was 100 x 54 feet, a three-story brick structure containing 43 rooms.  It was considered to be the only important commercial house between Detroit and Port Huron at the time.

In 1882, when the Mount Clemens Bath Company began construction of the Medea Bath House on the opposite corner of Cass and Gratiot, owner Connor took advantage of the opportunity to expand his business.  He constructed a three-story addition which extended the Cass Avenue side of the building all the way to Walnut street and provided another 47 rooms.  When the new Sherman reopened in June, 1883, it had modern amenities, was lighted with gas, and could accommodate up to 200 guests.

The Gratiot Avenue side of the Sherman as it appeared around 1900

In its heyday, the Sherman House was the place to "see and be seen" in Mount Clemens.  Politicians, business magnates, and actors were among its noted guests.   Beneath its roof the Old Crowd was organized in 1880, and in its lobby Old Crowd revelers met to wind down after each annual reunion for more than 40 years.

The house changed hands several times during its 64-year history.  The Connors sold it for $45,000 in 1891 to William Reep, Paul Ullrich and William J. Daley.  In 1897, George W. Fletcher bought the hotel, and it stayed in the family until October of 1906, when Max J. Herrmann took out a five-year lease on the establishment, eventually purchasing the property in partnership with Roman Eyth.  Under Hermann's management, the hotel was once again renovated to add shops to the south front, and a new dining room and kitchen on adjacent vacant property.  The Sherman briefly passed into the hands of an eastern syndicate in 1920 and then to Abraham Pancer, who sold it in 1924 to the Mount Clemens Savings Bank.

Following the bank's purchase of the property, the Sherman's days as a hotel were numbered.  Its last day of operation as a hotel was August 31, 1926.  Thereafter, rooms were leased to various businesses and offices until the bank was ready to begin construction of a modern, new facility.

The Sherman House passed into memory during the week of April 1, 1929, when the venerable old hostelry was demolished to make way for the new Mount Clemens Savings Bank.

For more information about the Sherman House, we recommend:

• Waterbury, Rodney A.  "Way Back When in Mount Clemens," Mount Clemens Monitor-Leader, March 21, 1951.
• Horton, William E.  "Sherman House Famous Since Civil War Days," Mount Clemens Daily Leader, April 11, 1929, p.1, col.6.
• "Wrecking of Old Sherman House Begins," Mount Clemens Daily Leader, April 3, 1929, p.1, col.4.
• "Last of Sherman House as a Hotel : No More Guests to be Taken After Today," Mount Clemens Daily Leader, August 31, 1926, p.1, col.5.
• "Old-Time Revelries of Bath City Actors and Politicians Recalled by Passing of the Sherman House," Mount Clemens Daily Leader, February 13, 1926, p.1, col.6.
• "Mt. Clemens Bank Takes Over Hotel : Deal for Famous Old Sherman House Closed Yesterday," Mount Clemens Daily Leader, November 4, 1924, p.1, col.7.
• "The Sherman Leased," Mount Clemens Monitor, October 26, 1906, supplement page.
• "The Sherman House Case," Mount Clemens Monitor, February 21, 1896, p.4, col.1.
• "Hotels Changing Hands," Mount Clemens Monitor, March 6, 1891, p.1, col.4.
• "A Great Work of Improvement," Mount Clemens Monitor, June 8, 1883, p.4, col.1.

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