Rayburn, Sam, Library and Museum
800 W. Sam Rayburn Dr., Bonham, TXThe 1957 Sam Rayburn Library and Museum in Bonham, Fannin County, Texas, was built to house the Speaker of the House's books, papers, and political artifacts, and also to provide his constituents a place where they could go to read, meditate, visit, and rest. The Sam Rayburn Library and Museum meets Criterion B, at the national level of significance, in the Area of Politics, for its association with a political figure of outstanding importance, Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn, who served 24 terms in congress and was the longest-standing Speaker of the House. Throughout his congressional tenure, Rayburn traveled from Washington, D.C., to Fannin County to relax at his house (NRHP 1972, NHL 1976), meet with his constituents, and work on his farm or nearby 900-acre ranch. The library served as the local office to Rayburn from 1957 until his death in 1961. The building also meets criterion in the Area of Architecture at the local level of significance as the most prominent and finest example of a Classical Revival public building in Fannin County, designed by Roscoe DeWitt and constructed by the Carpenter Brothers. The building meets Criterion Consideration (Properties that Have Achieved Significance within the Last Fifty Years) because it is associated with the productive life (albeit late in his career) of an exceptionally important statesman, and it represents his acute interest in establishing a permanent cultural legacy in his hometown.
Local significance of the building:Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.