Designed by Illinois architect Robert Watson, Sherman Hall is a three-story, mixed classical revival-style building.

Sherman Hall opened to the public in 1902 as the main building of Western Illinois State Normal School.

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.

[3] Sherman Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998 as "Western Illinois State Normal School Building."