True heroes are a rare commodity. Sometimes they gain the accolade by daring acts in the face of danger; sometimes the daring act in the face of danger is surviving. One of these heroes was Denison's Jay Hoover, who survived some of worst conditions of World War 2 to come home and without fanfare get on with a life interrupted by World War 2. Mr. Hoover died, in Denison, at the age of ninety-one, in 2013. This is his story.

Nearly every Texan has, at one point or another, owned a pair of cowboy boots. They have become a symbol of the state and its rugged Western history. Big Tex sports a size-70 pair of custom Lucchese boots as he greets visitors to the State Fair of Texas, and movie cowboy John Wayne popularized the "square-toed" boot style in his many Western features. And Sam Rayburn, who faithfully served in the United States House of Representatives for almost fifty years, often wore a pair of Justin Roper Boots at home on his farm in Bonham, TX. photo courtesy of the Sam Rayburn papers, Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin

Perhaps there was no more audacious and daring operation of World War 2 than the Doolittle Raid over mainland Japan in 1942. Sherman native John A. Hilger was Doolittle's second in command. This is his story of that first American response to the land of the Rising Sun.

The first land (Sec. A, Rows 1-17) for what would become the Dodd City Cemetery was donated by Edmund and Elizabeth Dodd for their 5-month-old daughter, Frances Jane, who was the first known burial on Nov. 7, 1842. This land was used by the Dodd family and then by many other folks in nearby communities such as, Lick/Doddsville/Dodd, Quincey, Shade Grove, etc. It was not long until it was more than a family plot.

The bridge at Telephone was open to traffic in late May 1927. The Bonham Daily Favorite of May 23 carried a big headline which read: "Telephone Bridge Has Been Opened - Public Crossed It." Once on the Oklahoma side, the road carried travelers to Bennington. photo courtesy of Bill Griffis

Recently retired Marine Lt. General Mark R. Wise and his wife Terri visited Bonham relatives and shared pictures from the exclusive showing of the movie “Top Gun: Maverick.” General Wise was among the prestigious military personnel invited to the event. The movie was of particular interest to Mark, since he flew the F/18 Hornet, which was featured in the movie.

This is the 15th in a series of articles for the 175th Anniversary of Bonham. Early citizens of Bonham and Fannin County treasured education. Records are few, but by 1859 there were 47 schools in the County which charged parents, but with some provisions for “indigent” students. One of the most well-known educators of Fannin County was Charles Carlton.

This is the 14th in a series of articles for the 175th Anniversary of Bonham. The Bonham Cotton Mill was organized in 1900 by nine Bonham directors acting for 192 local stockholders. "Bonham's people invested in the mill, Bonham people operated it, and Bonham people were employed by it." Its payroll touched almost every business in Bonham for 70 years.

This is the 13th in a series of articles for the 175th Anniversary of Bonham.

This is the 12th in a series of articles for the 175th Anniversary of Bonham.

Dodd City Weekly Spectator Nov. 21, 1884 - Ad sections

This is the 11th in a series of articles for the 175th Anniversary of Bonham. On January 24, 1912, the air age arrived in Bonham when famed aviator Charles F. Walsh landed his Curtiss bi-plane as part of a flying exhibition. This was only nine years after the Wright brothers’ flight at Kittyhawk in 1903.

General Zachary Taylor had reconnoitered the ground in 1841 and had recommended that the army establish a post on the site that would soon become Fort Washita. To that end, that Captain T. A. Blake brought Company A of the Second Regiment, United States Dragoons to the spot in April of the next year and set them to work.

This is the 10th in a series of articles for the 175th Anniversary of Bonham. When W.A. Spangler took office in April 1913 as the newly elected mayor of Bonham, he sensed an interest on the part of the citizens of Bonham to make an extra effort to improve their surroundings.

Part 2 of the last article continues here…. The Stephens’ family came to Fannin County, Texas in the mid 1840s and became a big part of Fannin County and Dodd City history. We will continue the story of Hugh R. Stephens and his daughter, Mary Texalina aka Texie who married Benjamin Logan Royce in 1871.

This is the 9th in a series of articles for the 175th Anniversary of Bonham. Although none of the original homes remain, the Russell Heights neighborhood of Bonham was in the late 19th and early 20th centuries the elite neighborhood of Bonham. Centered what is now Russell Avenue, it contained grand homes built on full city blocks.

This is part 3 in a series by Andy & Sherri Weeks. The fall of 1873 was a busy time in the new railroad town of Dodd City. The tracks were being laid, construction on the depot was moving fast and land was being purchased for businesses and homes. One new business was the General Merchandise store located across main street from the hotel. The Nov. 21, 1884 Dodd City Weekly Spectator ad states the store "now in its eleventh year" lets us know it was established in the fall of 1873.

Upper Trinity Regional Water District is building approximately 32 miles of pipeline, consisting of 66-inch and 72-inch-diameter pipe to transport water from Lake Ralph Hall. This new pipeline will connect the reservoir to an existing pipeline that currently delivers water to UTRWD’s system from Chapman Lake.

This is the 8th in a series of articles for the 175th Anniversary of Bonham. Between 1891 to 1915 street cars provided transportation to Bonham citizens.

Coffee and conversation around the breakfast table - photo courtesy of Sam Rayburn Museum, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin

This is the 7th in a series of articles for the 175th Anniversary of Bonham. As discussed in the previous article on the S. B. Allen Memorial Hospital, the white citizens of Bonham and Fannin County had a hospital as of 1903. However, there was no hospital for the colored citizens. This article gives some of the history of the Fannin County Colored Hospital.

Having spent a good number of my formative years in Fannin County, I have a great interest in the rich history of Northeast Texas. An amateur genealogist and historian for the greater part of my adult life, my primary area of interest is that of the origins of the names of people and places. An honest historian in the purest sense of the word should deplore revisionism unless new facts (or old facts seen in a new light) overwhelmingly support previously unseen truth. In hopes of maintaining that approach, I wish to present some of my thoughts and research concerning the naming of Windom, Texas. I encourage any comments that the reader may wish to share in relation to the subject at hand in hopes that our common goal is further enrichment and knowledge of our local heritage.

This is the 6th in a series of articles for the 175th Anniversary of Bonham. S.B. Allen Memorial Hospital served Bonham and Fannin County from 1903 until 1972.

This is the second article in a series featuring the history of Dodd City, Texas. Dodd City was created as a railroad town; Texas & Pacific Railroad would build a depot in Dodd City by May 31, 1873 near the Dodd House/Stagecoach Inn. (photo of James Ernest Denton, T&P Depot Agent - 1910 ca)

As Trustees of the Sunnyside Cemetery in Savoy, Texas, we have been researching people who are buried there but have no tombstone or marker. We would like to reach out to the community to see if anyone might have information as to where these people are buried.

In January, RES Environmental Operating Company, LLC began clearing the areas east of SH 34. They are working to remove trees, brush and fencing that would pose a boating hazard while strategically leaving areas for future fish habitat.

This is the 5th in a series of articles for the 175th Anniversary of Bonham. Around 1885 the Bonham Post Office moved to the northeast corner of Center Street and 5th Street, where Legend Bank is now located.

The founders of Dodd City, Texas were Edmund Hall Dodd (1814 KY – 1902 TX) and Elizebeth Garrett Dodd (1815 KY - 1900 TX) who became citizens of the Republic of Texas. After receiving their land grant in December 1839, they built the town of Licke, Texas located one mile east of Dodd City.

In celebration of the 175th anniversary of the City of Bonham, the Fannin County Museum of History has a new exhibit displaying some of the many carpenter tools that the Museum owns.

This is the 4th in a series of articles for the 175th anniversary of Bonham. The beautiful Alexander Hotel was begun in 1888 and completed in 1889. This impressive building stood on the southeast corner of the Bonham Square for over three-quarters of a century.

From January to March 2023, visitors to the Sam Rayburn House State Historic Site can see items from the Rayburn collection that were made in Japan or that were likely inspired by East Asian cultures.

This is the 3nd in a series of articles for the 175th Anniversary of Bonham. The Steger Opera House was one of the venues of entertainment and culture in Bonham from 1890 to 1920.

This is part of a series of articles for the 175th Anniversary of Bonham. Just over one hundred years ago, while farmers and businesses were preparing for the State Fair of Texas, African-American Texans were participating in a celebration of their own. photo by Erwin E Smith, courtesy of Amon Carter Museum

The 2nd in a series of articles for the 175th Anniversary of Bonham. After the Civil War a number of corporations began the process of establishing railroads in Texas.

It was a day almost 175 years in the making when an overflow crowd of 200 filled Bonham City Hall on Friday, February 3, 2023, to kick off a yearlong celebration to honor the 175th anniversary of the incorporation of Bonham, Texas on February 2, 1848.

While the settlement of Fannin County began in various locations on Red River, settlement around the area that was to become Bonham began with the arrival in 1836 of Bailey Inglish (and other pioneers), who settled about a mile east of the current Courthouse Square. Bailey Inglish in 1837 built Ft. Inglish, a blockhouse and stockade, on 1,250 acres of land located on Bois d'Arc Creek near timber and water supplies.

The Leon Hurse Dam at Lake Ralph Hall in southeast Fannin County is taking shape thanks to hard work during 2022. This past year has been one of tremendous progress for Lake Ralph Hall, with most of the road and bridge work already completed. As part of mitigation plans for Lake Ralph Hall, the remnant of the former North Sulphur River will be restored; stream construction is expected to begin this summer.

Construction of Lake Ralph Hall in Fannin County reached another major milestone with the final concrete pour for the Merrill Creek bridge, one of two bridges that will span the lake. Lake Ralph Hall is one of the state’s biggest water projects in the last 30 years and will provide up to 54 million gallons of water per day to the communities Upper Trinity Regional Water District (Upper Trinity) serves in Denton and Collin counties.

(L-R) Richard Owen, Pct. 2 Commissioner A.J. Self, Eddie Cox, Brandon Wallace, and Nathan Coyle. The monument was removed from the grounds for the renovation of the courthouse. And last week Commissioner A. J. Self's crew returned the monument to the courthouse grounds, where it now resides on the northeast side. Hopefully its permanent resting place.

Cornerstones can tell us our history. Here are the ones I found in Bonham. Photo by Kay Sisk of cornerstone at First Christian Church in Bonham

The workers are pouring concrete for the spillway (pictured) and continue to move dirt to build the dam's embankment. SH 34 bridge across Lake Ralph Hall is almost done—getting its last coat of concrete, after which workers will just need to finish the bridge barriers.

Elaine Crider selling Bluebird (Camp Fire) candy to Mr. Rayburn, 1950. photo courtesy of Sam Rayburn papers, Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin

1932 Bonham Warriors. Football was beginning to gain traction in the 1920s and 1930s when modern transportation became affordable for more families.

Over 122 years Bonham has had 35 coaches. And only 10 of those coaches have sustained 4 seasons or more. (photo by Allen Rich)

As the Texas Christian University website states, TCU's story began in 1869 when brothers Addison and Randolph Clark dreamed of creating a college for men and women. What is less well known is that Addison and Randolph Clark had roots in Fannin County.

The Sam Rayburn House invites you to join us at the Rayburn family farm on Saturday, January 7 to celebrate 141 years of Mr. Sam’s influence on Bonham, Texas, and the nation! Celebrate all things Sam Rayburn with first floor tours, birthday games and crafts, and, of course, birthday cake! Admission to Mr. Sam’s Birthday Party is free, and the festivities will run from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.!

Recent months have brought progress on new bridges and roads and considerable progress moving dirt and pouring concrete at the reservoir site. In addition, several other key Lake Ralph Hall projects have been moving forward behind the scenes. Rendering of the future pump station and type of pipe that will be used to create the Lake Ralph Hall pipeline.

This photographs shows recent progress on Merrill Creek Bridge. Construction on the roadways over and around future Lake Ralph Hall has been—quite literally—trucking along. Flatiron is finishing the decking for the North Sulphur Bridge and will roll on to the side barriers. All of the beams have been set on Merrill Creek Bridge, decking is expected to be finished by the end of December. Over the next couple of months, the side barriers will be completed followed by asphalt if the weather allows. Flatiron currently has around 80 workers onsite, and they are scheduled to open the bridges to traffic next spring.

The Sam Rayburn Museum, a division of the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin, presents "Rayburn and the Railroad," an exhibit highlighting the role trains played in the life of Sam Rayburn.

What do you think of when you imagine an archeological artifact? Old bones and clay pots? Tools and weapons from a time long gone? The jar for that medicine you don’t want anybody to know about? All of these things can be archeological artifacts if they are unearthed in a few years. According to the National Parks Service, artifacts are items made or collected by people in the past that can tell us about their lives and culture. It may not seem as cool to you as some ancient pottery collection, but believe it or not, the "junk" you have around you right now might well be a key clue for people in the future trying to figure out what we did all day.

Millard Doan Brent, the unofficial historian of Dodd City, has published an expanded History of Dodd City, Texas, with lots of details and photos.

A recent Fannin County fossil find of a Tylosaurus in July, on a section of the North Sulphur River owned by Upper Trinity Regional Water District (UTRWD), continues to tell paleontologists a story written approximately 100 million years ago, when much of Texas was covered by a huge inland sea.

In 1888 a number of newspapers carried a story about Fannin County resident Mrs. William Drennan and her friendship with young Abe Lincoln when they both lived in Illinois.

Original Bonham Daily Favorite photo of Jerry Lee Lewis signing autographs for Bonham High School sophomores, Wanda Dagley, Kathy Chaney and Sandy Moore.

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, a number of Jewish merchants and their families moved to Bonham and engaged in the mercantile trade, the cotton business and bought and sold real estate. These men were welcomed into the community, as evidenced by the fact that two Jewish merchants were among the first shareholders of the First National Bank of Bonham. They participated in the public and social life of the community, and were well thought of and respected. There was never a synagogue in Bonham, but services were held in various buildings.

The Sam Rayburn House State Historic Site invites you to join us on Saturday, October 29 for our fourteenth annual walking tour of Willow Wild Cemetery in Bonham, Texas. The program will offer a guided tour featuring teachers and educators from the Bonham area. The walking tour is free. After the Cemetery Walking Tour, you are invited to join us back at the Sam Rayburn House from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. for a celebration of Texas Archeology Month, with a special display of some of the items found on the site and free archeology-themed crafts for all ages!

(L-R) Frank, Will, Jim, Sam, Dick, Tom Rayburn 1920s. Tom Rayburn probably had a lot going on in October. He had a farm to manage, cattle to tend to, baseball to keep track of, and maybe some last-minute campaigning for his brother Sam. Minnie Eldridge also had a busy October. She lived in the Rayburn home from 1927 – 1937, having moved in after the death of her cousin Martha Rayburn (Tom’s mother), and she worked as a home demonstration agent. During October, Tom and Minnie both had responsibilities to the Fannin County Fair in addition to the goals they set for themselves with teaching men and women of the county better farming practices. This October, let’s look back on the things Tom and Minnie did for themselves and the people of Fannin County.

A member of the North Texas Color Guard pauses to honor the gravesite of James Carter, a member of the North Carolina militia who fought in the American War for Independence and then led his family on the long and arduous journey to the Republic of Texas in 1839. The Sons of the American Revolution and the Daughters of the American Revolution hosted a Patriot Gravesite Dedication at the Russell Family Cemetery on September 11, 2022, to honor the life and service of Carter.

The Harvey Lynn & Patsy Milton Scholarship Endowment was created by daughter Ruth Ann Jones and son Robert Milton to honor their parents.

Most people agree there was a lot to respect about Sam "Mr. Sam" Rayburn, but had at least one of what we today refer to as a vice – smoking. Mr. Sam had a habit of smoking unfiltered Camel cigarettes, and it's kind of hard to miss all the ashtrays he had around the house.

Kenneth Arnold's supposed encounter with flying saucers over Mount Ranier led to the U.S. Air Force study, Project Blue Book in 1952. But that was more than a century after the first UFO report in Fannin County.

When finished, the earthen dam will be about 2 miles long and 90 feet high with a width of 1,000 feet (approximately 3 football fields) at its widest point. About 95% of the entire site has been cleared of brush and trees for the dam floor. Dirt is being placed and compacted for the embankment on both the sides of the reservoir. Excavation is underway for the future spillway. Over the next few years, crews will place about 5 million yards of dirt and 200,000 yards of concrete to finish the spillway.

(L-R) Benny Goodman and Bonham, Texas native Charlie Christian. Although it was overlooked for decades, the story of Charlie Christian is as compelling as that of legendary Mississippi Delta bluesman Robert Johnson. Charlie learned fast, he played fast and they say he even had a wicked fastball, too. Unfortunately, he was gone just as fast. Charlie Christian didn't live to see his 26th birthday, but in 25 years he went from those first steps in Tanktown to walking with Bennie Goodman, Count Basie, Lionel Hampton and the true masters of his day.

Approximately twelve miles east of Sherman, along Texas Highway 56 at its intersection with U.S. Highway 69, a traveler will find the City of Bells, Texas. Situated in the midst of the rolling hills and prairies of northeast Texas and only a few miles south of the Red River, Bells and its neighboring communities lie in close proximity to Mill, Cornelison, Choctaw and Bois d'Arc creeks. This is the fertile land that inspired Colonel David Crockett to proclaim in his last letter home to his family in Tennessee, just prior to his death at the Alamo, "I expect in all probilaty [sic] to settle on the Bordar [sic] or Choctaw Bio [sic] of Red River that I have no doubt is the richest country in the world." David Crockett portrait by Chester Harding

Lake Ralph Hall is the newest reservoir to be built in Texas in the last 30 years, right after completion of Bois d'Arc Lake which is also located in Fannin County. Major tasks currently underway include constructing a 1.1-mile pedestrian friendly State Highway 34 bridge, rerouting a portion of FM 1550 and building an earthen dam to create the reservoir.