Tuesday, October 11, 2022 - 1:53pm
After Texas gained independence from Mexico in 1836, the Republic of Texas found itself in dire straits. The Republic was heavily in debt from the revolution and its newly won freedom remained precarious. The Mexican congress refused to recognize Texas independence as outlined in the Treaties of Velasco, signed by the imprisoned President Antonio López de Santa Anna. The threat of reconquest...
Friday, January 28, 2022 - 1:41pm
By Margo McCutcheon
The great thing about the Rayburn home is that it is both historic and modern. The home is over 100 years old, but people today can relate to items in the house because the Rayburn family used the home until just before 1970—meaning our visitors or their families likely had the same kind of appliances or the same furniture as the Rayburns.
For...
Wednesday, December 15, 2021 - 4:27pm
On Thursday, November 18, 2021, the Sam Rayburn House State Historic Site and the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History’s Sam Rayburn Museum in Bonham brought together a panel of Sam Rayburn experts to discuss the impact Sam Rayburn’s death had on his community, his district, and the nation as a whole.
Part of our ongoing series on the life and career of one of the most...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
Thursday, April 1, 2021 - 4:26pm
On March 2, 1836, while the siege at the Alamo raged, 59 elected delegates gathered in Washington, Texas to declare independence, write a new constitution, and elect an interim government. Risking everything, their actions legitimized the Revolution and changed the world forever.
On March 31, 2021 the Washington-on-the-Brazos Historical Foundaton and Washington-on-the-Brazos State...
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