The Sam Rayburn House Museum is a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...

at 890 West

Texas State Highway 56 State Highway 56 (SH 56) is a state highway Grayson and Fannin counties in north-central Texas, United States. This highway was designated in 1974 to replace U.S. Highway 82 (US 82) when it was rerouted north of Whitesboro ...

in Bonham, Fannin,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. Built in 1916, it was home to Sam Rayburn (1882-1961), a famously effective Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. It was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1976. and Since 1972, it has been operated as a museum and state historic site by the

Texas Historical Commission The Texas Historical Commission is an agency dedicated to historic preservation within the state of Texas. It administers the National Register of Historic Places for sites in Texas. The commission also identifies Recorded Texas Historic L ...

Description and history

The Sam Rayburn House is located on about on the south side of Texas Highway 56, on the western outskirts of Bonham. The property includes the main house, a storage building, shed, garage, wellhouse, and barn. The main house is a -story wood-frame structure, with a gabled roof and clapboarded exterior. Its main facade is protected by a shed-roof portico with two-story Tuscan columns, and there are three gabled dormers projecting from the roof. The facade is three bays wide, with a center entrance framed by sidelight and transom windows, topped by a projecting cornice. The house was originally thought to be built around 1904, before the Rayburn family purchased the property. Subsequent research later determined the date to be 1916, since Sam Rayburn's brother Tom took a lien on the property without the house on it. As originally built, the house was smaller and had a hip roof; its present configuration is the result of a major expansion commissioned by Rayburn from

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 ...

architect W.B. Yarborough. Rayburn occupied the house until his death in 1961. Since he died divorced and childless, his sister lived there until her death in 1969, after which it was taken over by the Sam Rayburn Foundation. In 1972, the foundation turned most of the property (excepting only the barn) to the state for preservation. All the furnishings are original and remain as they were when the Rayburns lived there. Rayburn's 1947 Cadillac is also on site.MuseumsUSA: Sam Rayburn House Museum
/ref> Rayburn was one of the most influential Congressmen of the first half of the 20th century, serving for 17 years as the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. He was an important force in maintaining harmony between the northern and southern wings of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, and served as a mentor to future president

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

. Of three residences known to be associated with Rayburn, this one is the best preserved and most evocative of his life.

Gallery

File:Sam Rayburn House Museum June 2017 05 (dining area).jpg, Dining area File:Sam Rayburn House Museum June 2017 08 (family room).jpg, Family room File:Sam Rayburn House Museum June 2017 13 (Sam Rayburn's bedroom).jpg, Sam Rayburn's bedroom

References

External links

Sam Rayburn House Museum websiteSam Rayburn House
Handbook of Texas Online {{DEFAULTSORT:Rayburn, Samuel House National Historic Landmarks in Texas Museums in Fannin County, Texas Historic house museums in Texas Texas state historic sites Biographical museums in Texas Houses completed in 1916 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Houses in Fannin County, Texas National Register of Historic Places in Fannin County, Texas Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks

Description and history

Gallery

See also

References

External links