The 13th in a series of articles
for the 175th Anniversary of Bonham
Bonham, Texas -- The idea for another railroad in Bonham apparently began as early as 1886, when the Bonham News reported on a meeting in Denison for a charter for the Denison, Bonham and New Orleans railroad.
The idea was to take the railroad all the way to New Orleans through connections with other railroads in Hunt and Delta counties and then to Marshall and New Orleans. However, it never got past Bonham.
A surveying party started out in February 1887. The work of constructing the railroad suffered a setback in June 1889 when the roadbed was washed out by heavy rains.
The corporate history is complex, but by 1901 the company was out of money and the Katy stepped in and rechartered it, and completed the track.
It was not until 1902 that the railroad was up and running.
The route was from Denison to Ambrose, then into Fannin County to Anthony. Then east to Ravenna, with a possible stop at Spies Switch, through what became the Bonham golf course, then across 78, swinging to East Bonham and down to Kathy Boulevard terminating at a turntable near where General Cable was located.
No photo of the Bonham depot, which was north of the Texas & Pacific Depot, has been found. However, it is shown on the 1909 Sanborn map.
It was a daily passenger train and then by 1907 there were two round trips per day. The entire trip was 28 miles.
Financial problems caused operations to cease in 1928. In 1928 the freight had included corn, cotton, cottonseed meal, watermelons, potatoes and peanuts, and there were 12 employees. Reportedly the depot and the tracks were removed in 1929.
The map below shows the route through Bonham.
If you have wondered why there is a street in Bonham named Katy, this is why.
And if you have wondered why the caboose at the Fannin County Museum of History has a Katy logo on it, it is because we honor both Bonham railroads.
