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BONHAM, TEXAS
Fannin County,
Seat, Central Texas
North
33° 35' 2" N, 96° 10' 54" W (33.583889, -96.181667)
U.S. 82, Hwy 121 and 56
12 miles S of the Oklahoma border
10 miles N of Bailey
37 miles W of Paris
41 miles NE of McKinney
72 miles NE of Dallas
27 miles E of Sherman
28 miles E of Denison
Population: 10,386 Est. (2019)
10,127 (2010) 9,990 (2000) 6,688 (1990)
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Bonham, Texas
Attractions/Landmarks
and Photo Gallery
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Sam
Rayburn House
Sam Rayburn House Museum
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1965
Photo courtesy TxHC at English Wikipedia |
Historical Marker:
890 W. Hwy 56
Sam Rayburn
House
In 1916, three
years after he began his career in the U.S. Congress, Sam Rayburn
built this home for his parents, who had left their farm at Windom.
The 2-story house had a front porch on each floor. In 1934 architect
W. B. Yarborough enlarged "The Home Place," turning the porches into
a 2-story portico. When not in Washington, Rayburn lived here with
other members of the family. Deeded to the Texas Historical commission
in 1972, the house is now (1974) a museum.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1965 |
The Sam
Rayburn House Museum:
Mr. Rayburn's residence built in 1916.
Original furnishings and personal items.
8 - 5 Tuesday-Friday and 9 - 5 on Sat.
Closed Sunday and Monday
(903) 583-5558
http://www.thc.state.tx.us.html
Sam
Rayburn's Home by Bob Bowman
"A visit to Bonham should start with a stop at the Sam Rayburn
House Museum on U.S. Highway 82 on the west side of town."...
more
Sam Rayburn
Library and Museum:
Just west of Downtown Bonham, the library contains memorabilia and
furnishings from the Washington office of one of the country's most
powerful and influential Speakers of the House. Second only to his
personal friend LBJ, Rayburn was the most visible Texan in US Government,
even surpassing Uvalde's "Cactus Jack" Gardner who was FDR's Vice
President.
Monday through Friday 10 - 5, Saturday 1 - 5, Sunday 2 - 5.
903-583-2455
Historical Marker: 800 W. Sam Rayburn Drive
Sam Rayburn Library and Museum
Speaker Sam Rayburn and Dallas architect Roscoe DeWitt designed
this facility to house Sam Rayburn's archives, books and artifacts.
Rayburn served Fannin and surrounding counties for more than 55
years as state legislator and U.S. Congressman, including 17 years
as Speaker of the House. The library, built in 1955-57, reflects
the Classical Revival architecture of federal buildings in Washington,
D.C. The steel construction building features a marble façade, copper
roof, and Ionic columns supporting an entablature at the main entrance.
The building also includes an exact replica of the Speaker's office.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2008
Clyde
W. Cosper Texas State Veterans Home
1300 Seven Oaks Road, Bonham, Texas.
Lt.
Clyde "Sparky" Cosper by John Troesser
Fannin County
Museum:
One Main Street
903-583-8042.
Hours: September to March Tuesday through Saturday noon to 4.
April to August Tuesday through Saturday 10 to 4.
Formerly on the third floor of the courthouse, the Museum now resides
in the restored Texas and Pacific Railroad Depot.
Fort Inglish
Park:
A replica of the original settlement in 1837 that eventually became
Bonham.
W. Sam Rayburn Drive.
903-583-3441.
Bonham
State Park
Less than 4 miles from Bonham
Coffee Mill
Lake:
Off FM 409.
15 miles northeast of Bonham.
Caddo National Grassland Wildlife Management Area
Book Hotel Here › Bonham
Hotels
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Victorian
Architecture in Bonham
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, April 2006 |
High School,
Bonham, Texas
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
Bailey English
School, Bonham, Texas
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
High School,
Bonham, Texas
Postcard
courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/
More Texas
Schoolhouses |
Hospital, Bonham,
Texas, 1908
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
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Bonham
Texas postcard, circa 1907 |
Bonham Chronicles:
James
Bonham - The Alamo's brave messenger by Murray Montgomery
Lt.
Clyde "Sparky" Cosper by John Troesser
B-17 Pilot, 367th Bomber Group, Hometown: Dodd
City, Texas
"A B-17 crashed near the town of Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire,
England on November 13, 1943. The only thing that prevented the
plane from landing directly on the town, was the Herculean effort
of the man at the controls....."
MacPhelan
Reese, Sam Rayburn, and the Rayburn Library by Mike Cox
Savoy
Male and Female College by Mike Cox ("Texas Tales")
When graduates of the long-extinct Savoy Male and Female College
gathered for their first reunion in 1938, several of the men did
a little reminescing about the Indians fights they had back in the
day...
Flagpole
by Mike Cox ("Texas Tales")
This story is about a mystery involving the flag staff that once
stood at Camp Howze, a sprawling World War II Army base at Gainesville...
Tom
Bean by John Troesser
The
Hardin Brothers by Bob Bowman ("All Things Historical")
More than 110 years have passed since East Texas outlaw John Wesley
Hardin was shot down in an El Paso saloon, but he remains one of
the most intriguing badmen in history... John Wesley, named for
the founder of Methodism, was born at Bonham in Fannin County on
May 26, 1853...
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Bonham, Texas
Historical Markers
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Historical Marker:
Willow Wild Cemetery (near W. 10th & SH 121)
Sam Rayburn
(Jan. 16, 1882
- Nov. 16, 1961)
Tennessee native Sam Taliaferro Rayburn moved to Texas with his family
in 1887. His long and successful political career began with his election
to the Texas Legislature in 1906. It continued through 25 consecutive
terms in the U. S. House of Representatives, where Rayburn served
with 8 presidents and held the speakership for 17 years. His funeral
at the First Baptist Church in Bonham was attended by 30,000 people,
including 4 presidents and 105 Congressmen.
1986 |
Historical Marker:
corner of Sam Rayburn & Chinner St.; in front of Fort Inglish Museum
Bailey Inglish
(ca. 1797-1867)
In 1837, Bailey Inglish moved his family to this area from western
Arkansas, where he had been an influential leader of pioneer settlers.
Here he was active in the formation of Fannin
County, serving on the land board and later as chief justice.
To guard against repeated Indian raids, he built a fort on his land
for area residents. The settlement that developed, first know as Bois
d'Arc, became Bonham. Inglish was instrumental in its early growth
through active public service and donations of land for town lots,
a cemetery, and a female seminary.
Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986 |
Historical Marker:
Center (SH 78) & 8th St.
First Baptist
Church
Organized November
1852 under the Rev. J. R. Briscoe with six charter members. The first
log church on this site doubled as the school. Cost of this lot--
then outside city limits -- was $50. Indian trail lay northeast. In
1855 a new frame church was built; baptisms were held in Saunder's
pool on West 7th. Other denominations were also allowed to worship
here. New churches were built in 1882 and 1921, the latter being dedicated
by George W. Truett, noted evangelist. The present church was dedicated
1959 under the Rev. Jack M. Carson, pastor.
1968 |
Historical Marker:
1201 N. Main St., L. H. Rather Junior High School
Bonham High
School Auditorium and Gymnasium
Using funds from
the Federal Public Works Administration and local tax dollars, this
structure was built to provide space for school and community assemblies,
performances and athletic events. Architects Voelcker and Dixon of
Wichita Falls designed the auditorium with Romanesque influences in
its arched window and entrance openings and its brick detailing. The
1937 Junior-Senior prom was the first official school function held
here, followed later that school year by commencement exercises in
the auditorium. It remains in use for community functions.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2001 |
Historical Marker:
1 Main St., Fannin County Museum of History
Bonham Cotton
Mill
In 1900, nine Bonham
businessmen formed a corporation to construct and operate a cotton
mill near this site. The town's presence on the northern edge of the
blackland prairie made it an ideal location for textile manufacturing,
since cotton was one of the area's principal crops. The Bonham Cotton
Mill, which opened in 1901, was the town's first significant industrial
plant. The corporation constructed a series of company homes and provided
free day care for children of employees. In 1920, the company merged
with Consolidated Textile Corporation, which was based on the east
coast. Management of the mill remained in the hands of John C. Saunders
until his death in 1934. The Bonham Cotton Mill closed in 1930 with
the onset of the Great Depression. In 1931, Bonham businessmen rechartered
it as a Texas corporation. After reaching its peak of production during
the 1940s, the cotton mill declined in the post-World
War II years. The plant merged with the Brenham Cotton Mill in
1958 but closed eventually in the 1970s. As Bonham's principal employer
for many years of the 20th century, the cotton mill had a major impact
on the city's social and economic history.
Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986 |
Historical Marker:
314 N. Center St.
Bonham Daily
Favorite
In 1887 Dr. J.
M. Terry, who gave up medicine for journalism, established the "Weekly
Fannin Favorite." He expanded in 1892 by starting this newspaper,
the oldest daily publication in Fannin
County. For 45 years its offices were in the 500 block of North
Main before moving here in 1953. Although ownership has changed many
times, the award-winning newspaper has maintained high standards of
news coverage. The "Daily Favorite" recorded the public career of
Sam Rayburn (1882-1961), Congressman from this district and
longtime Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
1978 |
Historical Marker:
near Lynn Street entrance
Inglish Cemetery
(1838-1964)
County's oldest. Bailey Inglish donated plot near old Fort Inglish
(called Bois d'Arc, later Bonham). Pioneers buried here include 1838
Indian massacre victims Andrew Daugherty, Wm. McCarty; 1836 Fannin
County colonizers Bailey Inglish and Daniel Rowlett; and Texas Revolution
veterans James Tarleton.
Fannin County Historical Survey Committee, 1964. |
Historical Marker:
corner of 10th & N. Main St.
On Route of
Early Texas Streetcars
In Bonham--as in
most Texas towns that became busy trading, ranching, or agricultural
centers in the late 1800s--streetcars or trolleys were used in local
transit. Bonham's steam-powered streetcar line, built about 1890,
extended 2.5 miles from Russell Heights to the Texas & Pacific Railroad
Station. Cars ran every 30 minutes. Fare was 5 cents; or 10 cents
round-trip. The route avoided the business district, as streetcars
frightened horses and disrupted trading. Other towns of sprawling
growth had mule-drawn streetcars as early as 1875. These early cars
were susceptible to track-jumping, collision, and other accidents,
but were nevertheless welcomed for their services. Convenient streetcar
rides attracted not only townspeople, but saddle-sore cowboys as well.
By 1890, when Bonham acquired the steam-car line, mule-drawn cars
were being replaced all over Texas.
1967 |
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Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
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