Discover

'Alson Sherman' (April 21 1811 - September 27 1903; buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Waukegan, IL) served as Mayor of Chicago, Illinois (1844-1845) for the Independent Democratic Party.
Sherman established the first sawmill in Chicago. In the three years before he was elected mayor, Sherman served as chief of Chicago's fire department. As mayor, he oversaw the city's purchase of its first piece of fire-fighting equipment. In 1850, he became one of the original trustees of Northwestern University. In the 1870s, when a canal being dug in Lemont, Illinois revealed Athens marble, Sherman was instrumental in developing the marble quarry there.