Absolem B. Faulconer laid out the plat for what became the city of Sheridan in the mid-1860s. This plat was recorded with the county on December 13, 1866. He had settled in the area in 1847. The Sheridan post office was established on April 4, 1866, with Absolem's brother Thomas serving as postmaster. By 1871 the town had grown to include two blacksmith shops, one church, one school, one hotel, one wagon shop, and two general stores. In October 1878, the Dayton, Sheridan and Grande Ronde Railroad, a narrow gauge railway, reached the community.