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Denison Main Street earns 2025 Great American Main Street Award for excellence in downtown revitalization
By media release
Apr 10, 2025
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Ceaseless commitment to innovative community-driven solutions credited

Denison, Texas – Main Street America announced that Denison Main Street has received the prestigious Great American Main Street Award (GAMSA), which recognizes communities for their excellence in comprehensive preservation-based commercial district
revitalization. The 2025 GAMSA honors, sponsored by The Hartford, were presented at the opening plenary for the Main Street Now Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Selected by a national jury of industry professionals and local leaders in the fields of economic development and historic preservation, Denison Main Street is being recognized for leading an expansive community engagement effort to support businesses affected by Designing Downtown Denison (D3), the most ambitious infrastructure renovation in Denison’s 152-year history.
“Denison Main Street has shown how meaningful community engagement can drive lasting change,” said Erin Barnes, President and CEO at Main Street America. “By fostering open communication, creative outreach, and strong local partnerships, they ensured that businesses and residents remained at the heart of their significant transformation.”

Founded in 1872, just south of the Oklahoma border in North Central Texas, Denison was once an important commercial hub along the Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad. But, in 1988, when Union Pacific relocated their headquarters, Denison was forced to reinvent itself to survive. In 1989, Denison Main Street became a Texas Main Street City, turning to Main Street America and the Main Street ApproachTM — one of the most powerful preservation-based economic and community development tools in the nation — to transform Denison’s main street into a thriving, multi-cultural community.

With a ceaseless commitment to community engagement and community-driven solutions, Denison Main Street met the challenges of Designing Downtown Denison head on, keeping residents informed and protecting the needs of Main Street businesses through open communication and by creating funding programs like the innovative Alley Access grant, which provides rear access to businesses that are safe, accessible and well-lit.

Through the tireless efforts of Denison’s Main Street Program and its dedication to the Main Street Approach, Denison’s Main Street has not only survived, but flourished. The average price for buildings downtown has increased by 200% over the last 15 years and the number of annual visitors to the city has risen by 2.6 million per year over the last three years.

"Denison’s success is built on the strength of its people. From business and property owners and volunteers to city leaders and residents, this award reflects the collective effort of an engaged community that loves its downtown," said Donna Dow, Director for the City of Denison. "Designing Downtown Denison was a grass-roots effort, and through open and transparent communication and strong support from our partners, we have worked hard to ensure revitalization goes hand in
hand with community and economic support. We are thrilled to see all our work recognized with this wonderful honor."

Denison Main Street is the third Main Street in Texas to be awarded the prestigious Great American Main Street Award. Denison was previously named a Semifinalist for the Great American Main Street Award in 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024.

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    In conjunction with Heritage Day and the Vive le Bois d’Arc celebration on May 3, the Fannin County Museum of History is delighted to have a display of prehistoric and Caddo artifacts in the display case on the 2nd floor of the Fannin County Courthouse.
  • A Bonham legacy at our feet
    You walk into the Credit Union of Texas, Don Toro or Studio 94 on the east side of the Bonham square, into Belle Rae's on the north, into Blessing & Butterflies or The Curiosity Shop on Main south of the Courthouse: do you look down? What do you see when you cross the threshold into these businesses? Do you see Bonham's past?
  • The friendship of Sam Rayburn and Harry S Truman
    I was curious about the relationship between Harry S Truman and Sam Rayburn because of a piece of corn. Currently at the Sam Rayburn Museum there is corn on the cob encased in resin on display in the "Gifts of a Nation" display case. No one is completely certain why Rayburn had it, but Truman has the same one. This is what led me to look into the friendship between Rayburn and Truman. The two men shared a tight bond throughout their political careers. courtesy photo of Harry Truman and Sam Rayburn at the Sam Rayburn House in Bonham
  • Bonham postcards on display at Fannin County Courthouse
    Bonham resident Kay Sisk has collected postcards of Bonham for many years, finding them at trade shows and estate sales. Some of the postcards were given away free by local businesses, and some were sold. The Fannin County Museum of History asked Kay to display some of her postcards in the display case on the 2nd floor of the courthouse.
  • Mabel Gilbert – Early Fannin County pioneer
    Please join us at the March meeting of the Fannin County Historical Commission on March 18 at 6:00 p.m. to learn about the contributions of Mabel Gilbert, a very early Fannin County pioneer, to Fannin County, Dallas and points west. Deborah Cornelius has written a historical novel about his remarkable life and times. Join us at 6:00 p.m. on March 18 at the Fannin County Historical Commission’s office at 1 Center Street in Bonham to meet Deborah and learn about Mabel Gilbert’s time in Fannin County.
  • 'A Time Before Texas' presentation attracts large crowd to Honey Grove
    A large crowd filled Lyday Hall at Honey Grove Library & Learning Center on Saturday, March 1, 2025, to hear what local archeologist Cody Davis and his cohorts discovered in the area that is now covered by Bois d'Arc Lake.
  • New residents find a new fight: sand and gravel mining in Fannin County
    When Kalin and Tricia moved their young family from the city to rural Fannin County, it was a dream they had worked and saved to make come true -- to escape the noise and chaos of the metroplex for a peaceful existence, surrounded by woodlands, wildlife and serenity. Then they heard bulldozers clearing trees.
  • Smithsonian highlights the experiences and impact of Japanese war brides in new traveling exhibition
    "Japanese War Brides: Across a Wide Divide" begins a national tour December 14 at Irving Archives and Museum in Irving, Texas. These young women left their homes to build lives within the complexities of postwar American society. Their experiences reshaped communities by challenging immigration laws and race relations. The arrival of these brides marked the largest women-only immigration event in U.S. history and, by 1960, had increased the population of Asian Americans in the U.S. by 10%.
  • Give a gift of Fannin County history
    The Fannin County Museum of History has several Fannin County history books for sale that might be just perfect for someone you know. The books are available for purchase at the Museum and are also available on Amazon.
  • Historic Christmas newspaper front pages from Fannin County
    Historic Fannin County newspapers often featured beautiful front pages for their Christmas editions. An exhibit of these newspapers is now on display on the 2nd Floor of the Fannin County Courthouse. Visit the courthouse during this season to view this display and beautiful decorations.
  • Lake Ralph Hall update: Five streams are springing to life
    Upper Trinity's contractors are finishing up construction on five new streams near future Lake Ralph Hall, which will flow into the North Sulphur River. The newly connected tributary streams are naturally beginning to flow with rainwater this fall, bringing life back to areas impacted for decades by severe erosion and loss of habitat. Restoring the tributaries of the river to their natural, curved paths helps mitigate the area's severe erosion and provide previously lost habitat.
Columnists
  • Texas History Minute -- Watkins
    It has been said that heroism is defined as holding on for one moment longer. A moment can save a life or change the destiny of a nation. Travis Watkins, a native Texas resident, was one such hero who took charge and held on against overwhelming odds.
  • We need more than today’s 'Mothers’ Day' to save our planet
    In the USA, Mothers’ Day is to celebrate and honor one’s mother and it takes multiple forms.
  • A time to speak
    First They Came is the poetic form of a 1946 post-war confessional by the German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984).
  • Bites: Fannin County and Beyond - Biscuit Bar
    The Biscuit Bar promises big, buttery comfort with a bold motto: "Everything Is Better On A Biscuit." I stopped by the Plano location to see if the food lives up to the hype—and if biscuits really can make everything better. Spoiler: some bites delivered, others missed, but the biscuit itself? Absolutely worth the visit.
  • Texas History Minute -- Glass
    H. Bentley Glass was at one time one of the most famous scientists in the nation. His life was a journey that began with missionary parents and a Texas education. Glass traveled the world, wrote volumes of books, made important scientific discoveries, and in the 1950s and 1960s, helped the entire nation start thinking about science and the ethics of the latest discoveries.
  • Workers and families in Grayson County, Texas join nationwide MayDay Rallies to stop the billionaire takeover and demand a better future for all
    On May 1, 2025, workers, immigrants, students, and families in Grayson County will join over 340 cities nationwide to honor the legacy of past labor struggles and demand public investment in our lives, not billionaires’ bank accounts.
  • Higher tariffs will lead to higher prices
    Now that we do not build the items we import, tariffs added to the imported prices only increase the final price.
  • Bites: Fannin County and Beyond
    If you're looking for the best steak in Fannin County, stop what you're doing and go to Roma Italian Restaurant.
  • Texas History Minute -- semicolon
    Every so often, news reports emerge of court cases that hinge upon the meaning of a word, or a spelling error, or even the correct placement of punctuation.
  • Oklahoma City terrorist attack, 30 years ago
    April 19 is the Day of Remembrance in Oklahoma City. On this day in 1995, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was blasted into infamy. Until 9/11, this was the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
  • In support of our libraries
    In many places, libraries are facing budget cuts, closures, or even attacks on the kinds of books they carry.
  • Texas History Minute -- Nimitz
    Chester Nimitz was a Texan ready to serve his country in its darkest days. Through clever planning and fearless determination, Nimitz led naval forces in the Pacific to victory in World War II.

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