The seven wonders of Bonham Past

On April 6th and 13th, Dallas Morning News columnist Steve Blow explored the Dallas equivalent to the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. So, I asked myself, if Dallas can have Seven Wonders, why can't Bonham? And of course, why not with that particular Bonham twist? First I'll offer the Seven Wonders of Bonham Past, followed in a few weeks by the Seven Wonders of Bonham Present.

Before starting, let me give a big thank you to Tom Scott, curator of the Fannin County Museum of History for keeping the facts straight--and for narrowing down his list of 26 to support my need for 7. For what it's worth, we agreed on four of them immediately. All images except the Cotton Mill are courtesy of the Museum's considerable collection. For those who wish to see history for themselves, the Fannin County Museum of History is currently on its summer hours, Tues-Sat 10-4.

Here, offered for your remembrance, in the order in which they disappeared:

Fannin County Courthouse

1. The Courthouse. Not the visage we see now nor the truncated one left after a fire on December 31, 1929, destroyed the signature cupola and roof, but the original built in 1888. Costing $77,000 and from stone quarried south of Gober, it was built by Scottish-born stonemasons, Karnack and Kane. When the citizenry failed to approve bond issues that would have restored its appearance, the county commissioners took the $55,000 in insurance money and remodeled it in 1931. By 1965, a modern look to the building was desired and it was remodeled, inside and out. Just think, under that current exterior beats a heart of Fannin County stone.

High School

2. The original public school. In 1880, the Fannin College for Men, a private secondary school, opened at the end of West Fifth Street. The school shut in 1890 and was bought by the City of Bonham to serve as the first public high school. It was torn down in 1902, and in 1903, the first building meant to be Bonham High School was opened. In 1914, the high school was built on Main near the present day auditorium and the original school became Duncan Elementary. In the early 1950s, a new building program gave us the just-closed Bailey Inglish and the current IW Evans (built where the Bonham Natatorium had stood). Duncan was torn down. The land was empty for five to six years before being bought by the Sam Rayburn Foundation for the Library that opened in 1957.

First Baptist Church

3. The old churches: First Baptist (1917-1958, torn down), First Methodist (1898-1959, torn down), and Holy Trinity Episcopal (1880-1962, destroyed by fire). The pictures speak for themselves of a variety of architecture, two counterpoints of which are still in existence in the First Presbyterian Church (built 1897) and the First Christian (built 1912), a block apart on North Main Street.

First Methodist Church

Holy Trinity Episcopal

Hotel Alexander

4. The Hotel Alexander. Occupying the southwest corner of Center and 4th, this three-story piece of Bonham history was completed in 1890. It had both dining room and ballroom and boasted famous guests such as William Jennings Bryan who came through on his presidential campaign of 1912. Sabine Valley Ice Cream, Woolworth's, and Grant Vogue, a ladies' store, occupied its ground floor at various times. The ice cream store was in the original Alexander's Bar. It was closed as a hotel in 1963, and the top two floors, which had become hazardous, removed in 1975.

Steger Opera House

5. The Steger Opera House. On the northeast corner of Center and 6th, this two-story brick edifice was completed in 1890. Productions with a full orchestra were not uncommon and the stage could hold a circus ring. It was sold in 1920, and for a brief time was a silent movie house. Various businesses occupied it until it was torn down in 1980.

Cotton Mill

6. The Bonham Cotton Mill. Founded by a group of investors in 1900, this was the first major industry in the city or county. Eventually creating as many as 400 jobs, the mill made both unbleached muslin and a heavy canvas drill cloth produced in olive drab during World War II. It was closed as a business in the early 1960s and the property eventually deteriorated. Demolition took place gradually, with the mill finally disappearing in the early 1980s. The Heritage Corridor is planned to go there and take in the property and lake.

Allen Memorial Hospital

7. Allen Memorial Hospital. 1903 saw the first hospital in the city and county. It was named for Mrs. Simon Bolivar Allen who donated the funds. By 1915 there was a nursing school. In 1972, Allen Memorial closed its doors with the advent of the new county hospital, now known as Northeast Medical Center. It was torn down and burned in 1994.

I hope you've enjoyed this walk through Bonham Past. Start making your list of Wonders Present and soon we'll compare notes.

Author's note: See www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sunken/wonders/ for a listing of the original Seven Wonders.