Front Page
Sam Rayburn House Museum offers Cemetery Walking Tour Oct. 31
By Anne Carlson, Curator, Sam Rayburn House Museum
Oct 28, 2009

Take a walk through history on Saturday morning, October 31 at Willow Wild Cemetery. Staff from the Sam Rayburn House Museum will present a guided walking tour of graves at 11:00 a.m.

Tour attendees will visit the graves and learn about those who were part of Sam Rayburn’s life. The walking tour will feature biographical sketches of Sam Rayburn’s parents, siblings, employees and friends.

Willow Wild Cemetery serves as the resting place for United States Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sam Rayburn as well as many members of his family. The Speaker’s death on November 16, 1961 was a great blow to the nation’s political landscape and sent the country into mourning. Sam Rayburn’s funeral and burial were attended by Presidents Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy and future President Lyndon Johnson. Sam was buried in the Rayburn family plot, near those who were closest to him - his family.

The Cemetery Walking Tour is free and will include hot cocoa and refreshments. Willow Wild Cemetery is located in Bonham near the intersection of highways 121 and 56. The tour will begin near the Willow Wild Cemetery entrance by Sam Rayburn’s grave.

For more information about the tour, please contact the Sam Rayburn House Museum at 903.583.5558.