The Sam Rayburn House Museum, a Texas Historical Commission property, is home of Sam Rayburn, one of the most powerful and influential politicians of the 20th century. Rayburn built the two-story home in 1916 on a 121-acre farm just west of Bonham, a North Texas community. Rayburn served in the Texas House of Representatives and the U.S. Congress, eventually becoming speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Rayburn served as speaker for 17 non-consecutive terms between 1940 and his death in 1961.
The home exists today as a 20th-century time capsule that preserves the Rayburn family home of the 1960s. The home contains all original Rayburn family furnishings. In addition, the grounds include Rayburn’s 1947 Cadillac, a historic smokehouse, vegetable garden, barn and garage. The home is a National Historic Landmark, a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.