Althea Rosina Sherman (1853-1943) was an illustrator, educator, ornithologist, and writer born in National, Iowa. After studying art and earning her Master’s degree from Oberlin College in 1882, she taught illustration for a number of years.
But in 1895 she returned home to National to care for her ailing parents. During this time Althea began a second, self-taught career in ornithology. She became a pioneer in the life studies of specific bird species and kept meticulously-detailed journals of her observations.
Sherman published more than 70 articles in the scientific and ornithological journals of the day. Her research on several species was used by Arthur Cleveland Bent in his Life Histories of North American Birds series. She was elected a “Member” of the American Ornithologists’ Union. In addition, she was selected for inclusion in Who’s Who of the Women of the World and American Men of Science.
Her background in art helped her create realistic illustrations of her subjects. Sherman’s paintings of the American Goldfinch inspired the Iowa Legislature to adopt it as the State bird.
In 1915, Sherman hired local carpenters to build a 28-foot-tall, 9-foot-square wooden tower, from her own designs, to attract and observe nesting Chimney Swifts. A staircase wound from bottom to top through three floors and enclosed a 2-foot-square artificial chimney.
Doors, windows, and peepholes into the chimney allowed Sherman to be the first person ever to witness and record the entire nesting cycle of these birds. Her Chimney Swift Journals, covering 18 years and more than 400 pages, form the cornerstone for all subsequent swift research. They may offer the most extensive study of this species in existence.
The original Chimney Swifts’ Tower drew hundreds of visitors from this country and abroad.
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