A Joint Project of the Sam Rayburn House Historic Site and the Fannin County Historical Commission
Celebrating America 250 with Spotlights of Fannin County Citizens Who Participated In or Witnessed Historical Events
Fannin County, Texas -- Many individuals have contributed to researching and sharing the history of Fannin County, but perhaps none more than Tom Scott.
Tom was born in Bonham and was a 1949 graduate of Bonham High School. He graduated with a B.A. and M.A. from Baylor University, an M.S. from the University of Texas and an Ed.S. from Auburn University. He was a drill instructor at Lackland Air Force Base from 1954 to 1958. He taught at Temple College and Grayson College, and then at Patrick Henry State Junior College in Monroeville, Alabama, where he got to know Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird.
He returned to Bonham in 1982 and served three terms as Chairman of the Fannin County Historical Commission. He became curator of the Fannin County Museum of History in 1987.
Bonham Mayor Roy Floyd remarked: "Tom Scott was Fannin County history. He knew more about Fannin County history than any man I know."
But his most notable achievement was the Fannin County Museum of History.
The Museum had started in a room on the 3rd floor of the Courthouse. When Tom Scott returned to Bonham, there were already plans to acquire the railroad depot for a museum, but Tom was the person with the connections with Union Pacific Railroad, which finally donated the depot. Tom worked with many others to raise money and to renovate the depot. The grand opening was June 14, 1987. Many local families contributed items to the Museum, which Tom helped to organize for display. In 1987 Tom was named Citizen of the Year by the Bonham Chamber of Commerce.
Tom was also a prolific researcher and writer. From June 1992 to May 1995, he wrote a weekly series published in the Bonham Daily Favorite titled “Bois d’Arc Sketches.”
Tom Scott died on July 16, 2009, and is buried at Willow Wild Cemetery. But his legacy lives on at the Fannin County Museum of History.
