The Sherman Indian High School began as Perris Indian School in 1892 at Perris, California. Under Mr. M. S. Savage's direction, the school opened in Perris, California with eight students. In 1897, however, Harwood Hall, the Superintendent, visualized the need of a better location for the school than at Perris where the water supply was inadequate.

Mr. Hall, endeavored to influence Congress and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to see the growing need for better educational facilities for American Indians in the Western United States. On May 31, l900, Congress authorized $75,000 for the construction of new facilities in Riverside. It was James Schoolcraft Sherman, then Chairman of Indian Affairs for the House of Representatives and later Vice President of the United States, who promoted the erection of Sherman Institute, which was named after him.

July 18, 1901, marked the laying of the cornerstone of the school's main building on a forty-acre plot of land facing Magnolia Avenue. Eighteen Pima Indians were enrolled in 1902. Several Mission Indians were among the early students. Enrollment increased from year to year, and by l908, Sherman had a student capacity of 550. There were thirty-four buildings built around the campus.

In the fall of 1902, eight grades were in operation. Agricultural and industrial arts programs were added. Education was limited to grades one through eight at that time. In the year 19l6, pupils were enrolled in grades one to ten, and in 1906 the Institute became a high school for Indian youth, with an average enrollment of 1000. An enrollment of 1,256 students was recorded in I930, and in 1932 Sherman became an accredited high school.

The athletic program among boys and girls was extremely popular. Many trophies were won in various sports fields, such as football, basketball, track, baseball, cross country, and volleyball. Sherman also became known for its outstanding bands.

In I908, a junior high school program was in operation, comprised of vocational subjects, such as industrial training, carpentry, painting, cabinet making, blacksmithing, wagon making, shoe and harness shops, tailoring, printing, agriculture, home economics, and home nursing.

The Sherman Bulletin, the official school publication, started in 1907 and continued until 1963 when the print shop was closed. During the following years, a school paper has been published by supervised students.

The Sherman Farm of 1l0 acres, near the present community of Home Gardens on Magnolia Avenue, was not only a training ground, but a source of food for the school. The property is no longer owned by theschool, but a small area was set aside as a school cemetery and is owned by the U.S. Government.

In l909, 43 tribes were represented on the school roll, with Native Americans not only from California but also from states in the Pacific Northwest and the Plains.

By 1926, the school offered a complete elementary and high school curriculum, as well as a course inCosmetology. The enrollment had reached 1,000 students.

During the depression years, from I930 to 1936, the enrollment decreased. California Indians becameintegrated into public schools. Several years later, this practice was discontinued and California Indian students returned to Sherman.

In 1946 the desperate need for education among the Navajos guaranteed the continuance of Sherman as an educational institution. October, 1946 marked the opening of the Special Program for 350 Navajo young people between the ages of 12 and 20, who had never experienced formal education. The courses in vocational training were highly developed until 1947. By 1948 the regular graded program was discontinued.

The Special Program was in operation for more than fifteen years.

Each year the school made gradual changes to meet the needs of the students. Its doors were opened to other tribes, and Sherman moved in the direction of a high school program, adding a grade each year until in l966 the school began graduating classes having completed the full high school program.

By 1971, Sherman was re-accredited and became known as Sherman Indian High School. In 1967 eight buildings were declared unsafe in the event of a major earthquake. One of the last buildings to be razed was the old school building, demolished in 1970. The old cornerstone from this building and its contents were saved and placed in Sherman Museum. The original shop building of Spanish architecture, which was built by WPA funds in 1938, is still standing and in use today.

An ultramodern school has arisen from the site of the old structures. Sherman is known to be a well-equipped school for Native American youth.