Sherman Institute (Riverside, Calif.)

The Sherman Institute was established in 1900, as a successor to the Perris Indian School (Perris, Calif.), after the water supply to the previous school was deemed insufficient. By 1901 a site in the city of Riverside was selected, at the corner of Magnolia Avenue and Jackson Street. On July 19, 1901, the cornerstone was laid for the new school building of Sherman Institute, and the school officially opened on September 9, 1902. The Perris Indian School remained in operation until December 1904 when the remaining students were transferred to Riverside. It was named after Congressman James S. Sherman, who helped establish funding for the school in 1900. The Perris Indian School and the Sherman Institute were both founded as schools with the goal of assimilating Indigenous tribes into mainstream American culture.