Bonham, Texas

==History==
One of Texas's oldest cities, Bonham dates to 1837, when Bailey Inglish built a two-story [[blockhouse]] named Fort Inglish about {{convert|2|mi|0}} from the current downtown. Inglish and other acquaintances settled there in the summer of 1837, and the settlement was named "Bois D'Arc". The [[Congress of the Republic of Texas]] named the city Bloomington in 1843, but renamed it Bonham in honor of [[James Butler Bonham]], a defender of the [[Alamo]]. On February 2, 1848, Bonham was incorporated as a city. A 1936 statue of Bonham by Texas sculptor [[Allie Tennant]] is on the courthouse grounds.<ref>Little, Carol Morris, ''A Comprehensive Guide to Outdoor Sculpture in Texas'', University of Texas Press, Austin,  1996 p. 100</ref>

After connecting to the [[Texas and Pacific Railway]] the city began to grow, and by 1885 there were six churches, three colleges, two public schools, three weekly newspapers, a sawmill, two grain mills, a power plant, and about 2,300 inhabitants. 1890 saw the addition of streetcars, an ice plant, and the opening of the Texas Power and Light Company, the area's utility provider. In 1925 the city was connected to natural gas lines.

In 1898, 1911–1914 and 1921–1922, Bonham hosted [[minor league baseball]]. The [[Bonham Boosters]] and other Bonham teams played as members of the Class D [[Texas-Oklahoma League]] (1911–1914, 1921–1922) and the Independent [[Southwestern League]] (1898). Bonham teams featured a different moniker each season. [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] member [[Kid Nichols]] was Manager of the 1914 Bonham Sliders.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi|title=Register Team Encyclopedia|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/league.cgi?code=TXOK&class=D|title=Texas-Oklahoma League (D) Encyclopedia and History|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>

During the [[Second World War]], a training camp and an aviation school for the [[United States Army Air Forces]] were in the vicinity of Bonham, as was a prisoner-of-war camp for German soldiers. Parts of the camp, approximately 0.5 miles north of US 82, can still be visited today.