Clarence O. Sherrill

Clarence Osborne Sherrill was born on May 24, 1876, in Newton, North Carolina, the third of seven children. His younger sister, Mary Lura Sherrill, became a prominent chemist and his older brother, Joseph Garland Sherrill, helped found the American College of Surgeons. His mother was Sarah Ramseur Bost and his father, Miles Osborne Sherrill, was a Civil War veteran who had lost a leg at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. After the war, his father was a clerk of court in Catawba County, a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives and North Carolina Senate, and state librarian from 1899 to 1916. Sherrill attended Catawba College before enrolling at Trinity College (now Duke University). He left Trinity in 1897 to attend the United States Military Academy (West Point), where he graduated at the rank of second lieutenant in 1901 with a degree in civil engineering, second in his class. After graduating, Sherrill was stationed as an engineer in the Philippines, assisting with the construction of roads, bridges, and wharves. He was promoted to first lieutenant in 1903 and moved to Washington, D.C., serving as a military aide to President Theodore Roosevelt for one year. In 1911, he served as chief engineer at Fort Crockett in Galveston, Texas, followed by stints in Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans. ==Career==

Washington, D.C. In 1921, Sherrill was appointed chief military aide to President Warren G. Harding, a role he continued during the early years of Calvin Coolidge's presidency. While also serving as military aide, Sherrill was appointed director of the Office of Public Buildings and Grounds, beginning in March 1921. In this role, Sherrill was responsible for a large number of projects and departments. He was involved with planning the construction of several prominent sites in Washington, D.C., including the Lincoln Memorial, the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial, the George Gordon Meade Memorial, the Titanic Memorial, and the Arlington Memorial Bridge. Blanton wrote that Sherrill presides "arrogantly and pompously as the sole and exclusive dictator, lawmaker, law enforcer, contract letter, concession granter, employee hirer, employee discharger, money disburser, judge, jury and executioner from whose iron decree there is no way of escape." Sherrill also implemented segregation policies in the city's parks, pools, and picnic areas, by requiring installation of signs that said "white" and "colored". An article in The Durham Morning Herald reported: "Negroes in the District of Columbia have requested President Harding to remove Col. C. O. Sherrill, aide to the president, because the latter is charged with segregating the races at public gatherings in Washington." Cincinnati Sherrill left Washington, D.C., to work as the first city manager of Cincinnati, Ohio. After Grant III declined to take over the role when Sherrill left, Clarence Addison Dykstra was named the new city manager. Sherrill worked as vice president of the Kroger Grocery and Baking Company from 1930 to 1935, assisting with the company's advancements in supply chain management. His military background and success at Kroger was the inspiration for a character in Once an Eagle, a novel by Anton Myrer. Sherrill served as the organization's president, and according to academic author Michael J. Hicks, was instrumental in thwarting attempts to stop the "anti-chain store movement" by utilizing advertisements and placards. ==Personal life==

While studying at the School of the Line, Sherrill married Geraldine Caldwell Taylor, granddaughter of former U.S. Senator Alexander Caldwell, on November 30, 1905. Sherrill died on February 6, 1959, at The Christ Hospital and was buried alongside his wife in Section 6, Grave 9542-1. Sherrill Drive in Rock Creek Park is named in his honor. ==References==