Bonham -- The Sam Rayburn House Museum is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2015. The Museum celebrated recently by opening a new exhibit, 40 Years at the Museum: 1975-2015. The exhibit opened on Saturday, June 27. The exhibit features photographs, artifacts and a timeline of events from the Museum’s 40-year history.

The history of the Museum actually begins well before the year 1975. The beginnings of the historical home start with Sam Rayburn and his brother Tom purchasing 121 acres of land to the west of Bonham, Texas in 1914. Together they contracted the construction of a family home in 1916. Though Sam Rayburn died in 1961, his sister Medibel Bartley lived in the house until her death in 1969. The home transferred to the Sam Rayburn Foundation that same year. In 1971 the Foundation deeded the home to the State of Texas. It was then put under the auspices of the Texas State Historical Survey Committee (later renamed the Texas Historical Commission). The agency began a restoration of the home and surrounding property in 1973. Their mission was to develop the home into a museum.

After two years of restoration, the Texas Historical Commission dedicated the Sam Rayburn House Museum on April 1, 1975. The dedication ceremony included speeches by Lady Bird Johnson, former Speaker of the House John McCormack, and Texas Congressmen Wright Patman and Ray Roberts. The dedication ceremony was filled with friends, family and nearly 1,000 visitors.

Since opening in 1975, the Museum staff and the Texas Historical Commission have worked to give visitors an honest, historically accurate and inclusive look at Sam Rayburn, his family and their home. The evolution of guided tours, interpretive programming, exhibits and even restorations provide for an ever-evolving educational and fun visit to the site.

The exhibit 40 Years at the Museum: 1975-2015 will remain on display in the Museum’s newly renovated visitor center until summer, 2016. Admission to the exhibit is free. 

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.