The original name honored James A. Evans, who surveyed the area searching for a shorter route through Wyoming compared to the earlier trails which crossed at South Pass.

[3] The town was abandoned after the Union Pacific moved its tracks to the south, but the townsite is still the location of the Ames Monument, erected by the railroad to mark its original high point.

The railroad company twice moved its tracks southward toward more gradual grades over the Laramie Mountains, eroding Sherman's tenuous existence a few hundred yards west of the monument.

As a result of the track move, the high point on this section of the railroad, known as the Overland Route, is now about 3.4 miles (5.5 km) southeast of the Ames Monument at 41°05′52″N 105°21′03″W / 41.09778°N 105.35083°W / 41.09778; -105.35083, at an elevation of 8,014 ft (2,443 m).

However, this point (like the Ames Monument) is not actually on the crest of the Laramie Mountains, which is now surmounted via the nearby Hermosa Tunnel at the slightly lower elevation of 7,960 ft (2,430 m).