Research on Fannin County History
This document has been prepared by the Fannin County Historical Commission to help those interested in researching
Fannin County history and Fannin County Genealogy.
Version as of July 2025
Online Resources
Fannin County Museum of History website and its Photo Database
Honey Grove Preservation League website
Fannin County GenWeb website
Census records and many other things are available at familysearch.org (a free site) and ancestry.com (a pay site)
Museums, Libraries and Research Organizations
Fannin County Historical Commission. In addition to its website, the Fannin County Historical Commission contains hard copy files of newspaper clippings and other documents, and oral histories. 903-583-5947 Email: fchc1837@gmail.com
Bonham Public Library. 305 E. 5th Street, Bonham. Hours at http://www.bonhamlibrary.net
Honey Grove Library and Learning Center. 500 N. 6th Street, Honey Grove. Phone. 903-378-2206
Leonard Museum. Call the Leonard Chamber of Commerce for hours.
Sam Rayburn Library and Museum. 800 West Sam Rayburn Drive, Bonham. Phone: 903-583-2455
Sam Rayburn House Historic Site., Bonham Phone: 903-583-5558
Historic Newspapers
Honey Grove: Historic newspapers for Honey Grove are available online at the Portal to Texas History. Some more recent newspapers are at the Honey Grove Library, Local History Room
Bonham: The Bonham Daily Favorite, the Bonham Herald, the Bonham News and other historic Bonham newspapers have been added to the Portal to Texas History. See the Fannin County Area Newspaper Collection.
Ladonia News. Many issues are available on the Portal to Texas History. Additional issues more recent issues are at the Honey Grove Library.
Leonard Graphic. Over 3200 issues are available on the Portal to Texas History.
Savoy Star. Over 4500 issues of the Savoy Star are available on the Portal to Texas History.
The Google Newspaper Archive contains copies of The Favorite and The Bonham Daily Favorite. This is a free site, but is not searchable. See https://news.google.com/newspapers
Newpapers.com is a pay site that contains issues of the Bonham Daily Favorite.
Books About Fannin County History
Fannin County Folks and Facts. Available online at the Fannin County GenWeb site and at the Portal to Texas History.
Biographical Souvenir of the State of Texas. Available online at the Fannin County GenWeb site and the Portal to Texas History
A History of Fannin County. By Floy Crandall Hodge
History of Fannin County, Texas. By W. A. Carter. 1885
A Pictorial History of Fannin County. Republished 2017 by the Fannin County Museum of History. Available from Amazon.com and at the Museum.
Yesterday Revisited. A Pictorial History History of Fannin County, Texas. Available at the Fannin County Museum of History
Soil Survey of Fannin County, Texas. 1946 At the Portal to Texas History.
Lake Fannin Saved. By Gregory Hall. 2017. Available from Amazon.com. A copy is also available at the Fannin County Historical Commission.
For Bonham
Bonham: The Era Has Gone, But Memories Linger On. Available online at the Fannin County GenWeb site and on Flickr
Pictorial Souvenir Album of the City of Bonham, Texas. January 1902
Celebrating the 175th Anniversary of Bonham. A Collection of Articles on Bonham’s History. Available on Amazon and at the Fannin County Museum of History
Bonham - Town of Bailey Inglish. Available on Amazon and at the Fannin County Museum of History.
The Fort Inglish Story. At the Portal to Texas History.
The Jewish Merchants of Bonham, Fannin County, Texas. Available on Amazon and at the Fannin County Museum of History.
For Dodd City
The History of Dodd City, Texas. Available on Amazon and at the Fannin County Museum of History.
For the Honey Grove Area
John Black’s Pictorial History of Honey Grove Texas, 1880-1925. Copies available at the Honey Grove Library and the Fannin County Museum of History
One Hundred Years. Honey Grove Centennial History 1873-1973. Copies available at the Honey Grove Library and the Fannin County Museum of History
Historic Homes, Buildings & Locations of Honey Grove, Texas.
Larry Dobbs and Rebecca Shirley histories on the communities north of Honey Grove. The books, which contain many photographs, include: (1) Families of the New Salem Cemetery, Selfs, Texas. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6. (2) Will Morgan Plantation and Honey Grove, the Early Years. (3) Joe Goss Plantation and King Cotton at Honey Grove, Texas. (4) Families of the Shiloh Cemetery (for the communities of Shiloh, Greens Chapel and Selfs. (5) The Photographic Works & Collection of Elmer John Tyer; (6) A History of Bois d’Arc Springs and the Greens Chapel Community. Part 1: https://www.flickr.com/photos/97263918@N04/albums/72157689530835873 Part 2: https://www.flickr.com/photos/97263918@N04/albums/72157676359121817
A History of Monkstown and the Surrounding Area, Fannin County, Texas. www.fannincountyhistory.com/monkstown
Our Town, WIndom. On the Portal to Texas History.
For Ladonia See the Historical Commission website at https://www.fannincountyhistory.org/ladonia-page
For Leonard The History of Leonard. Available at the Portal to Texas History.
For Mulberry The Gathered Words of Mulberry, Texas, by Gregory Hall. Available from Amazon.com. A copy is also at the Fannin County Historical Commission
School Yearbooks
Many Fannin County school yearbooks are online at the Historical Commission website under the Education tab.
Directories
Directories and telephone books for Honey Grove are at https://www.honeygrovepreservation.org/directories
Other directories are at https://www.fannincountyhistory.org/directories
Maps
A good source for Sanborn maps is https://maps.lib.utexas.edu/maps/sanborn/
Some Honey Grove maps are here: https://www.honeygrovepreservation.org/maps
Fannin County Maps are also available at the Fannin County GenWeb site. https://www.txfannin.org/maps