Fannin County Museum of History

The Fannin County Museum of History picks up the story of Fannin County shortly before the Texas Revolution when Dr. Daniel Rowlett introduced the first twelve families as permanent settlers to the area. It continues through the uncertain years of the Republic of Texas, to the Civil War era, through arrival of the railroad and the tumultuous beginning of a new century, the jazz age, and two world wars. All of this housed in the restored 1900 Texas and Pacific Railway depot, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Prehistoric Fannin County is represented by a small but important collection of fossils. The Sulphur River Valley today still yields prehistoric remains for the collector. Early Native American artifacts are also represented in the museum.

As might be expected from a museum housed in a train depot, items relating to the first railroad to be built in the area, the Texas and Pacific, are housed in a room devoted to the arrival of the iron horse in 1873.

History of an area is so often reflected in the clothing worn by its citizens. In permanent and changing exhibits the museum presents an array of clothing dating from an 1858 “second-day wedding dress”, to an elegant Victorian ball gown, or an art deco inspired flapper dress.

Changes in communication and education are reflected with exhibits of a telephone switchboard, a radio collection, and a rural schoolroom.

A mini Fire museum centers around a restored 1918 American LaFrance fire truck with vintage fire fighting attire. The most recent exhibit “Bonham in the War” details Bonham’s part in the war effort with the recreation of a section of the Jones Field pilot training base at the municipal airport. The most popular item in this exhibit is the restored blue and yellow Fairchild PT-19 airplane.