Sherman Hall (Western Illinois University)
main administrative building of Western Illinois University
Sherman Hall is the main administrative building of Western Illinois University and site of the original Western Illinois State Normal School in Macomb, Illinois.
History
Designed by Illinois architect Robert Watson, Sherman Hall is a three-story, mixed classical revival-style building. Construction on Sherman Hall began on December 21, 1900 at the cost of $302,950.
Sherman Hall opened to the public in 1902 as the main building of Western Illinois State Normal School. Sherman Hall was the school's only building until Garwood Hall was built in 1914. At the turn of the 20th century, the hall contained classrooms, an auditorium, a gymnasium, a library, laboratories and administrative offices.
The building was referred to as the "Main Building" until it was renamed in honor of Lawrence Sherman, an influential Macomb lawyer and speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, in 1956.
Sherman Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998 as "Western Illinois State Normal School Building." This listing also encompasses nearby Garwood Hall because it is linked to Sherman Hall by a passageway as well as the Western Illinois University Art Gallery because it was the original heating annex for Sherman Hall.
“Sherman Hall (Western Illinois University)” enters the record as main administrative building of Western Illinois University. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Sherman, Hall and Western can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Sherman Hall (Western Illinois University)” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Sherman, Hall and Western provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7495178. Authority coordinates are 40.464, -90.683. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1900, 1902, 1914 and 1956.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Sherman Hall (Western Illinois University)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Sherman Hall (Western Illinois University) primary sources, Sherman Hall (Western Illinois University) archive and Sherman research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Sherman Hall (Western Illinois University)”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Sherman Hall (Western Illinois University)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.