Wednesday, September 15, 2021 - 3:41pm
By Railey Tassin, Intern at Monument Hill State Historic Site
Many people know the story of the Monument Hill tomb—which holds the remains of 52 Texas men who died during the Dawson and Mier Expeditions in 1842 and 1843— and have visited it to pay their respects.
Yet not as many consider the history or significance of the adjacent monument itself. In 2021, the monument will...
Friday, August 27, 2021 - 9:03am
By Margo McCutcheon, Site Educator, Sam Rayburn House State Historic Site
Martha “Mat” Clementine Waller married a man named William Marion Rayburn on May 14, 1868. With that marriage, the Waller became a Rayburn, but what happened to the Waller name? Although Martha didn’t really “lose” her maiden name, she and many other women throughout time who descended from Anglo-Saxon...
Thursday, August 5, 2021 - 12:42pm
On Thursday, July 22, the Sam Rayburn House State Historic Site and the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History’s Sam Rayburn Museum in Bonham teamed up for an in-depth webinar exploring the life and career of one of the most influential Americans in the 20th century.
This was the first in a new series delving into specific facets of Sam Rayburn’s personal life and political...
Wednesday, August 4, 2021 - 1:52pm
By Stephanie Hardin, Intern, Sam Rayburn House State Historic Site
One frustrating part of history is the amount of conflicting points of view and narratives. Fortunately, modern material artifacts typically do not have this problem. The Sam Rayburn House State Historic Site is very fortunate that many of the artifacts in the collection have one origin point.
However,...
Friday, July 2, 2021 - 9:35am
By Margo McCutcheon, Site Educator, Sam Rayburn House State Historic Site
For holidays or special occasions, dining tables may have a centerpiece in the middle of the table to represent the occasion. Hors d’oeuvres, small finger foods, and perhaps some decorative elements might provide the table with looks as well as usefulness before the main meal arrives.
However, some...
Monday, June 28, 2021 - 4:30pm
By Jasmina Kocurek, Kreische Brewery and Monument Hill State Historic Sites
The milestones of LGBTQ+ literature are not the first thing that come to mind when one thinks of La Grange, Monument Hill, and the Kreische House. But that is just where one of the first English-language novels to depict lesbian love is set.
Norma Trist or Pure Carbon: A Story of the Inversion of the...
Friday, May 28, 2021 - 11:05am
By Margo McCutcheon, Site Educator, Sam Rayburn House State Historic Site
At the Sam Rayburn House State Historic Site, staff members are constantly learning about the home we preserve and interpret. One of the ways we learn is through visitors.
Whether it is because of their personal connection to the Rayburn family, their historical knowledge, or their own curiosity,...
Monday, April 26, 2021 - 2:02pm
By Andy Rhodes, The Medallion Managing Editor
The Port Isabel Lighthouse has been a beloved landmark on the Laguna Madre near South Padre Island for nearly 170 years. The Texas Historical Commission (THC) gained custody of the site in 2019; since then, the agency has been coordinating preservation efforts with its architectural staff and site managers at the City of Port...
Friday, April 23, 2021 - 10:21am
In April 1836, the future of Texas hung in a balance. Since independence had been declared on March 2, the Texian Army had suffered two crushing defeats at the Alamo and Goliad, and the government, along with most of the population, was fleeing east.
The fate of the young Republic rested in the hands of General Houston and his small army, and on April 21, 1836, at an abandoned cattle...
Monday, April 5, 2021 - 8:45am
On Thursday, March 18, the Sam Rayburn House State Historic Site and the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History’s Sam Rayburn Museum in Bonham teamed up to present a look at the life and career of one of the most influential Americans of the 20th century.
This was the second of a two-part series, and explored Sam Rayburn’s role as the longest-serving Speaker of the House of...
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