Sam Rayburn Museum

About

The Sam Rayburn Museum, located in Bonham,Texas, is one of the four divisions of the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History. It is the creation of the man who served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives longer than any other person: Sam Taliaferro Rayburn (1882–1961). Known affectionately as "Mr. Sam" by his friends and colleagues, Rayburn established the museum in 1957 as a tribute to the people of his cherished Fannin County.

Sam Rayburn served as congressman during the administrations of eight presidents and participated in the passage of most of the significant legislation of the first half of the twentieth century. He became chairman of the powerful Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce in 1931 and House majority leader in 1937. Rayburn, as well as Vice President John Nance Garner, played a critical role in passing much of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal.