On Route of Early Texas Streetcars

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the early streetcar days in Bonham, Texas. Now picture yourself in Fannin County, late 1800s, when a Texas town was only as good as its hustle. Bonham was hustling.

Trading, ranching, agriculture, the whole spread. And like most Texas towns that got busy enough, Bonham needed a way to move people around without losing half the afternoon doing it. Enter the streetcar.

Around 1890, Bonham built itself a steam-powered streetcar line. Two and a half miles of track, running from Russell Heights all the way to the Texas and Pacific Railroad Station. Cars rolled every thirty minutes.

Now here's the part that'll make you reach for your pocket. Five cents a ride. Ten cents round-trip.

Not a bad deal for tired feet. But here's a wrinkle worth noting. That route, it deliberately went around the business district.

Because steam-powered cars rolling through town had a way of frightening horses, and frightened horses have a way of disrupting trade. So the streetcar kept its distance, polite as you please. Now Bonham wasn't the first town to figure any of this out.

Other Texas towns had mule-drawn streetcars as early as 1875. Those early cars, whether mule or steam, had their troubles. Track-jumping, collisions, various other accidents that would test a passenger's faith.

But folks welcomed them anyway, because convenient beats complicated every single time. Townspeople rode them. And then there were the cowboys.

Saddle-sore, road-weary cowboys, who apparently found five cents a very reasonable price for not sitting on a horse for ten more minutes. By the time Bonham got its steam line around 1890, the mule-drawn cars were already on their way out all across Texas. One era rolling quietly aside for the next.

That's how it went out here on the Texas roads.

What the marker says

In Bonham--as in most Texas towns that became busy trading, ranching, or agricultural centers in the late 1800s--streetcars or trolleys were used in local transit. Bonham's steam-powered streetcar line, built about 1890, extended 2.5 miles from Russell Heights to the Texas & Pacific Railroad Station. Cars ran every 30 minutes. Fare was 5 cents; or 10 cents round-trip. The route avoided the business district, as streetcars frightened horses and disrupted trading. Other towns of sprawling growth had mule-drawn streetcars as early as 1875. These early cars were susceptible to track-jumping, collision, and other accidents, but were nevertheless welcomed for their services. Convenient streetcar rides attracted not only townspeople, but saddle-sore cowboys as well. By 1890, when Bonham acquired the steam-car line, mule-drawn cars were being replaced all over Texas. Early Travel, Communication and Transportation Series, Erected by the Moody Foundation 1967.