Bonham -- In honor of the history of farming at Sam Rayburn’s Bonham, Texas home, the Sam Rayburn House Museum will host Farming Heritage Day on Saturday, September 20 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Farming Heritage Day is an annual event held on the grounds of the Sam Rayburn House Museum in which farming traditions are explored through demonstrations and hands-on activities. In recognition of the years Sam Rayburn and his family harvested crops and raised livestock on their farm in Bonham, the Museum will offer a multitude of free activities and displays that educate and entertain both children and adults.
Sam Rayburn’s home in Bonham was constructed in 1916. The property included a 121-acre farm which he and his brother Tom operated. The Rayburn brothers grew corn, cotton, hay, oats and sorghum. They practiced soil conservation through terrace farming methods. The livestock on the farm included Jersey and later Polled Hereford cattle. Mr. Rayburn was one of the foremost experts on dairy cattle, and was especially fond of the Jersey breed. In the 1940s Rayburn began raising Polled Hereford cattle and phased out the more costly Jersey operation.
The Rayburn farm did not have electricity until 1935 when Rayburn paid to have the lines run out from Bonham. This lack of technology made the process of milking and keeping the milk cool a difficult task. Milking was done by hand in the early morning by the light of a kerosene lantern. Beginning in 1934, the milk was picked up early in the day just after milking by a truck from the local Kraft-Phenix Cheese Factory (later called Kraft Foods) that operated in Bonham.
Along with cattle and poultry, the Rayburn family kept several horses and mules on the farm. They were utilized in the early years for pulling plows, wagons and other implements. Sam and his brothers later invested in mechanized equipment. The Rayburn’s 1948 Farmall Model H tractor is on display.
Farming Heritage Day will include both mechanized and hand-operated technologies. The Wylie Antique Machinery Society will represent the mechanization of farm equipment with a display of several tractors and internal combustion engines manufactured between the 1890s and 1940s known as “hit and miss” engines.
Rayburn’s years as a Hereford cattle breeder will come to life with a display of Hereford cattle by Mr. Mike Doyle, a local rancher. Given ideal parameters for conformation, size and overall appearance, visitors can judge the cattle for themselves, just like professional judges at fairs and cattle shows. Entrants with the correct judging score will be entered in for a prize drawing from the Sam Rayburn House Museum. Members of the local 4-H and FFA groups will participate by displaying some of their show animals including a variety of breeds of rabbits, horses and a Nubian milk goat.
Visitors will also be able to make (and sample!) their own butter. Children and adults can grind coffee beans, scrub laundry, husk corn, pick cotton and crank the old fashioned ice cream maker. Adults and children can also make their own cornhusk dolls, plant cotton and vegetable seeds, and make a woven craft.
We will also be serving free refreshments and giving themed tours of the house museum.
Make plans to join us for this educational, fun and free event!
The Sam Rayburn House Museum tells the real story of Sam Rayburn, one of the most powerful and influential politicians of the 20th century, in his authentic 1916 home. Preserved as a period time capsule, the two-story home contains all original Rayburn furnishings. The Sam Rayburn House Museum is one of 20 historic attractions operated by the Texas Historical Commission. For more information visit www.visitsamrayburnhouse.com.