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Sam Rayburn Museum launches major capital improvement project
By Sam Rayburn Museum
Jul 17, 2025
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Bonham, Texas -- The Sam Rayburn Museum is pleased to announce the launch of a major capital improvement project. The planned changes to the historic building include essential drainage and foundation repair and maintenance; enhancements to both the main and accessible entrances; and landscaping upgrades. The Rayburn Museum, located in Bonham, Texas, is a division of the Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.  

Although exterior spaces may be impacted by work, the Museum’s public exhibits will be available to visitors. For the duration of the project, the museum’s temporary exhibit space has been converted to staff offices, and the museum will be unable to host traveling exhibits or participate in Bonham’s annual Quilt Hop. As repairs may impact public sidewalks and entryways, the Museum encourages visitors to check the website for related alerts and updates. 

“The Rayburn Museum is the most visible and significant representation of Speaker Rayburn’s historical significance. These upgrades are critical to the preservation of this important public landmark and, by extension, to the legacy of Mr. Sam himself. We are pleased to move from the assessment phase to the implementation phase of the project,” said Don Carleton, executive director of the Briscoe Center.  

The Sam Rayburn Museum documents the life and career of Samuel Taliaferro Rayburn (1882–1961). Rayburn’s tenure as a US Congressman (from 1913 to 1961) spanned 48 years and eight presidents. Rayburn played a key role in the passage of New Deal legislation and was instrumental in the World War II military effort and era-defining postwar foreign aid programs. He remains the longest-serving House Speaker in American history.

Designed to invoke the aesthetic of our nation’s capital, the Museum and its exhibits give students, families, and visitors the opportunity to learn about the early- to mid-twentieth century Congress. The Museum opened to the public in 1957. Architect Roscoe DeWitt, one of Dallas’s earliest modernists, was chosen to design the library, although Rayburn had extensive input into all aspects of the building’s design. The building is approximately 6,000 square feet, and a majority of the building’s materials were produced in the state of Texas, reflecting Rayburn’s love of his home state. The centerpiece of the Sam Rayburn Museum is a replica of the formal office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, which “Mr. Sam” used as a meeting place when he was in Bonham. The Sam Rayburn Museum was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005 and became a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 2008.

 For more information about the Rayburn Museum and the capital improvement project, please visit the Museum’s website, email rayburn@austin.utexas.edu, or call 903-583-2455.