BONHAM, Texas––In commemoration of the 50 years that have passed since the November 16, 1961 death of Sam Rayburn, former esteemed Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Sam Rayburn House Museum and the Sam Rayburn Library & Museum will host a Rayburn Commemorative Progressive History Tour. The tour will take place in Bonham on Friday, November 18 from 6-8p.m.

Stops on the tour include culturally and historically significant locations in Bonham, Sam Rayburn’s hometown for 45 yearswitheach site focusing on a different aspect of Rayburn’s life.Visitors will learn about how Rayburn’s passing changed the nation and what his death meant to private citizens, national leaders, and our country. Along with displays of photos, archives, and artifacts from the Sam Rayburn Museum, some of the sites will feature oral history presentations.

President John F. Kennedy, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, and former Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Harry S. Truman sit in the front pew during Sam Rayburn funeral, November 18, 1961.

Tour locations include the Bonham Visitor’s Information Center, the Creative Arts Center, the Fannin County Historical Commission, the Fannin County Museum of History, the First Baptist Church of Bonham, and the Sam Rayburn Library &Museum. The evening will begin at the Visitor’s Center and the tour will end at the Sam Rayburn Library &Museum, where visitors can view the new exhibit “Laying Down the Gavel,” an in-depth look at the events surrounding the end of Rayburn’s life.

“Laying Down the Gavel,”was developed in conjunction with the Sam Rayburn House Museum. The exhibit, which opens to the public at the Sam Rayburn Library & Museum on Wednesday, November 16, will remain on display until December 16, 2011. 
In addition to the exhibitions, each site will serve refreshments. Shuttle-bus transportation to each of the tour sites is being provided by the Texoma Area Para-Transit System (TAPS).

A division of the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, the Sam Rayburn Library & Museum contains exhibits on Sam Rayburn’s life and career and features an exact replica of the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives during Rayburn’s tenure. It also houses Rayburn’s personal library and an extensive collection of books that relate to his career or to the people, issues, and events with which he dealt during his years of public service.

For more information visit www.cah.utexas.edu/museums/rayburn.php.

The Sam Rayburn House Museum and visitor center are currently not available for tours due to extensive restoration work. The visitor center and gallery will re-open in early Novemberand the exhibit, “Preserving the Speaker’s Legacy: Restoration and Renovation at the SamRayburn House Museum” will remain open to the public during much of the remainder of the project.

The Sam Rayburn House Museum is one of 20 historic sites operated by the Texas Historical Commission. The Sam Rayburn House Museum tells the real story of Sam Rayburn, one of the most powerful and influential politicians of the 20th century, in his authentic 1916 home.Preserved as a period time capsule, the two-story home contains all original Rayburn furnishings.For more information visit www.visitsamrayburnhouse.com.
www.thc.state.tx.us