Bonham State Park is a state park located in

Bonham, Texas Bonham is a city and the county seat of Fannin County, Texas. The population was 10,408 at the 2020 census. James Bonham (the city's namesake) sought the aid of James Fannin (the county's namesake) at the Battle of the Alamo. Bonham is part of t ...

(in Fannin County, northeast of

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

). It includes a lake, rolling prairies, and woodlands.

History

The state acquired the land for the park in 1933 from the City of Bonham.

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

Company 894 developed the park between 1933 and 1936, landscaping the rocky, hilly terrain for erosion control and recreational purposes, and constructing an earthen dam to impound a sixty-five-acre lake. They constructed buildings of local cream-colored

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

and

Eastern red cedar ''Juniperus virginiana'', also known as red cedar, eastern red cedar, Virginian juniper, eastern juniper, red juniper, and other local names, is a species of juniper native to eastern North America from southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico a ...

, working under the supervision of Bonham architect Joe C. Lair and

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

architect William C. Caldwell. The overall design exhibits a rustic style. The CCC also built the entrance portal, concession building (currently the park headquarters and storage facility), waterfront storage building (currently the boat house), pavilion and dance terrace, picnic tables, barbecue pits, water fountains, vehicle and foot bridges, culverts and a water tower.

Activities

There is (unsupervised) swimming and fishing in the lake as well as camping, picnicking, mountain biking, boating (5 mph speed limit).

Area Attractions

Nearby attractions include the Eisenhower State park, Eisenhower Birthplace and

Sam Bell Maxey House State Historic Site The Sam Bell Maxey House is a historic house in Paris, Lamar County, Texas. Samuel Bell Maxey, a prominent local attorney and later two-term U.S. senator, built the large two-story house after serving as a major general in the Confederate Army. ...

s. Bonham attractions include the Sam Rayburn Museum and the

Sam Rayburn House Museum The Sam Rayburn House Museum is a historic house museum at 890 West Texas State Highway 56 in Bonham, Fannin, Texas. Built in 1916, it was home to Sam Rayburn (1882-1961), a famously effective Speaker of the United States House of Representa ...

, both named in honor of Sam Rayburn. Rayburn was a Fannin County native who held the office of U.S. Speaker of the House for 17 years, the longest tenure in U.S. history.

Campsites & Other Facilities

Facilities include restrooms with and without showers; picnic sites (including one group picnic area); campsites with water and electricity; campsites with water; a group camp with barracks and a dining hall, which accommodates approximately 94 people (the facility is only rented as a single unit, not separately); an trail for mountain biking and hiking; a playground; a launching ramp; a boat dock; and a lighted

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Natural Features

The park is situated in the Texas blackland prairies. The terrain is dominated by grassland interspersed by woodlands. More luxuriant woodlands occur along water courses and the lake's shoreline. Although the park's grasslands are no longer pristine, they are recovering nicely and have small areas dominated by

little bluestem ''Schizachyrium scoparium'', commonly known as little bluestem or beard grass, is a species of North American prairie grass native to most of the contiguous United States (except California, Nevada, and Oregon) as well as a small area north of t ...

and bushy bluestem. The woodlands are composed of Texas live oak, eastern red cedar,

bois d'arc ''Maclura pomifera'', commonly known as the Osage orange ( ), is a small deciduous tree or large shrub, native to the south-central United States. It typically grows about tall. The distinctive fruit, a multiple fruit, is roughly spherical, ...

, and Eve's Necklace, with

sugarberry ''Celtis laevigata'' is a medium-sized tree native to North America. Common names include sugarberry, Southern hackberry, or in the southern U.S. sugar hackberry or just hackberry. Sugarberry is easily confused with common hackberry ('' C. occ ...

, cottonwood, black willow, and

green ash ''Fraxinus pennsylvanica'', the green ash or red ash, is a species of ash native to eastern and central North America, from Nova Scotia west to southeastern Alberta and eastern Colorado, south to northern Florida, and southwest to Oklahoma and e ...

becoming more common along the creeks and lake shore. Numerous wildflowers and flowering shrubs cover the gently rolling prairie in the spring, and stands of cedar and mixed hardwoods provide a panorama of multicolored leaves in the fall. Wildlife is limited because of the relatively small size of the park. However, the lake shoreline provides habitats for beaver,

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...

, opossum, and a number of visiting songbirds. Although a few woodland birds are permanent residents, visitor and migrant species outnumber the residents.

References

{{authority control Grasslands of Texas Protected areas of Fannin County, Texas State parks of Texas