Friday, August 5, 2016 - 8:00am
By Barbara Judkins, Site Manager, Starr Family Home State Historic Site
The Starr Family Home’s newest exhibit, Four Generations of Finery, showcases examples of the family’s exquisite home furnishings, art glass, and collections of ceramics and silver. From the time Maplecroft, the home of Frank and Clara Starr, was completed in 1871 until the property was donated to the state in 1985...
Thursday, July 28, 2016 - 8:00am
By Finley FitzGerald, Intern, Sam Rayburn House State Historic Site
Originally found in a storage chest amongst other Rayburn possessions, the Prairie Rose trapunto-style quilt is likely one of the most precious of the family’s quilt collection. The dating of the quilt goes back to 1850—likely making it a possession that Mr. Sam and his siblings inherited from their parents. Hand-...
Thursday, June 30, 2016 - 8:00am
By Finley FitzGerald, Intern, Sam Rayburn House State Historic Site
The souvenir cup that rests on a bureau in the room that housed Medibel Bartley, Mr. Sam’s sister and the last of the Rayburn residents in the house, is rather inconspicuously placed atop the right-hand drawer amongst other miscellaneous items. It’s a modest piece, a small ceramic cup no bigger than a stout shot glass...
Tuesday, May 31, 2016 - 8:00am
By Anne Rupert, Sam Rayburn House Curator
Did you know that Sam Rayburn wasn’t the only member of his family to work in the federal government? “Mr. Sam’s” nephew, Robert Taylor Bartley, worked in Washington D.C. for many years. He retired from federal service in 1972 after 41 years on the job.
When constructed in 1916, the occupants of Sam Rayburn’s home in Bonham included...
Friday, April 29, 2016 - 8:00am
By Angela Pfeiffer, Varner-Hogg Plantation State Historic Site
In honor of spring flowers, this month’s artifact is a set of toilet or cologne bottles once owned by Sam Houston. Donated to Varner-Hogg Plantation State Historic Site by Gen. Houston’s descendants, these two white glass bottles are painted with flowers that surround the gilt...
Wednesday, April 27, 2016 - 8:00am
By Sarah Robinson, Intern, Sam Rayburn House State Historic Site
Sam Rayburn’s nearly 50-year tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives saw eight different presidential administrations, from Woodrow Wilson to John F. Kennedy. As a young Congressman early in his career, “Mr. Sam” did not work closely with the president, but as his career progressed and his influence increased, he and...
Thursday, March 31, 2016 - 12:38pm
By Sarah Robinson, Intern, Sam Rayburn House State Historic Site
In honor of Women’s History Month, our March artifact of the month highlights the fireplace bellows located in the sitting room of the Sam Rayburn House. The bellows were a gift from one of the most important women in Sam Rayburn’s political life: his secretary of 42 years, Alla Clary.
Clary was born on August 26...
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