BORN IN TEXAS: Dwight D. Eisenhower, the nation’s first Texan president, was born in a two-story house at 609 S. Lamar in Denison in 1890.
SMALL TOWNS J Denison Eisenhower Birthplace
JUST OVER AN HOUR from Dallas, Denison is one of North Texas’ best-kept secrets, boasting 580 miles of beautiful shoreline, blocks of art galleries and antique stores, and a bustling entertain- ment district. The city was found- ed in 1872 as a depot for the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, and named after MKT vice presi- dent George Denison. Before long, it grew into quite the thriving commercial center in the Old West — mostly bars, gambling halls and brothels — where even the infa- mous John Henry “Doc” Holliday temporarily kept offices in 1875. Denison is now home to over 22,000 people, but visitors can still step back into the old pioneer days at the Red River Railroad Museum (101 East Main St., Suite
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Visit Denison
denisontexas.us
145) housed in the historic Katy Depot. Every wall is covered with photos and display cases fea- turing books, maps and all manner of artifacts from the golden era of railroads.
Red River Railroad Museum Open Thursday through Saturday
11 am – 4 pm
Sunday, 1 pm – 4 pm (903) 463-5289
redriverrailmuseum.org
Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site
Open Tuesday to Saturday 9 am – 5 pm
Sunday 1 pm – 5 pm (903) 465-8908 visiteisenhower
birthplace.com
There is an admission fee to tour the house, but the grounds and exhibits in the
Visitors’ Center are free and open to the public.
The Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site (609 South Lamar Ave.) showcases the home where the 34th president was born in 1890. His family moved temporarily from Kansas to a modest two-story rental house in an active working- class neighborhood of Denison. He may have only lived in the town for 18 months, but the house and the family’s time there had a significant influence on the future president and his older brothers. The first Texan- born president of the United States served two terms and is remembered for establishing the NASA space
program, the Interstate Highway System and the International Sister City Program. Eisenhower’s role in winning World War II, however, is what prompted Denison citizens to make his birthplace a memorial. The 10-acre site features the historic home (refurbished with 1890s-era furnishings), por- tions of the working-class neighborhood that once surrounded it, and a former railroad corridor that contained tracks from 1878 to 1990. The site museum is celebrating 70 years of operation on April 16 with an event called the Big Texas Breakfast Open House.
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COURTESY OF DENISON CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU; NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS COMMISSION
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