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

"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%.

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 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.

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.

Col. James Tarleton, who is buried in the Inglish Cemetery in Bonham, fought at San Jacinto in the Texas War for Independence.

Construction crews began redirecting water from the North Sulphur River channel on October 28 and moving it for the first time through the Leon Hurse Dam spillway.

Fannin County citizens might be surprised to learn that one of the few survivors of the Goliad Massacre lived in Fannin County and is buried at Grove Hill Cemetery.

Hammett Excavation is pitching in as a subcontractor on UTRWD's Lake Ralph Hall, but this is not just any project for the family-owned excavation company. Today, the team hauls local filter sand for Resolve Aggregates, a local business partner, to help construct the dam. However, the Hammett team's connection to conservation around Lake Ralph Hall goes back to 1963, when Gaylon Hammett's family business began with a small job to stop erosion in nearby streams — long before the idea of a reservoir was conceived. "Our first dozer job was right here near the site of Lake Ralph Hall, working on soil case conservation," second-generation CEO Hammett shared. "The government offered funding to slow severe erosion in the area."

As Fannin County begins to celebrate the historical significance of bois d'arc to this region, perhaps it is time to revisit a lecture given in 2011 by the late Dr. Fred Tarpley, Professor Emeritus of Literature and Languages at Texas A&M University-Commerce.

A special ceremony will be held on Saturday, November 9, 2024, starting at 11:00 a.m. with a potluck lunch following, to honor Staff Sergeant Eula Sturdivant Phillips, United States Army Air Force, World War II. Please note that This ceremony is scheduled to start after the cemetery workday from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Over one hundred years ago, what we now call World War I was raging throughout Europe. The first Fannin County boy to die overseas in battle was Rufus Shelton. Born in Honey Grove, Texas on March 2, 1898, he was the seventh child of nine children in that family. His father was a farmer who operated a farm near the small community of Dial, southeast of Honey Grove.

Just 25 minutes from downtown Dallas lies the John Bunker Sands Wetland Center, a hidden gem that is revolutionizing water treatment through innovative conservation practices. Spanning almost 2,000 acres, this remarkable facility combines beauty with utility, serving as both a vibrant habitat for wildlife and an essential water treatment system for over one million residents in the Dallas area.

When visionary conservationist John Bunker Sands gazed across his cattle field, he imagined a thriving wetland teeming with life. This dream has now transformed into one of the largest manmade wetlands in the United States, providing a crucial resource for both nature and the Dallas-area community.

It was a rumbling review of military-vehicle history and a special treat for many veterans in Bonham when the Military Vehicle Preservation Association HA Jefferson Highway 2024 Convoy passed through Bonham on Sunday, October 20, 2024.

Since the beginning of construction on Lake Ralph Hall, UTRWD has worked with the Perot Museum to identify, extract and/or study significant fossil finds. This includes the 2022 discovery of a Tylosaurus on a section of the North Sulphur River owned by UTRWD (image courtesy of the Perot Museum). UTRWD worked with Perot Museum paleontologists to extract the specimen for further study at the museum.