Jefferson Highway Historic Site Looking north on the historic Jefferson Highway, Main Street, Bonham, Texas. The Jefferson Highway was a highway stretching through the central Untied States from New Orleans Louisiana to Winnipeg, Manitoba in Canada.  This is the Magnolia Oil Co. Gas Station, viewed to the right. Construction on this station began in 1917 and was completed in 1918. It was built specifically to service motorists traveling the Jefferson Highway. It has been partially restored and now is home of United Motor Garage. On the left is the historic Panter Row.  The area was originally called Post Office Row, because the Post Office was there for 30 years, moving around 1885. Then the area began to be called “Panther Row” around 1895. Although the origin of the name “Panther Row” is not documented, some think the name came from a whiskey with the name “Panther” sold at the saloon. In the late 1800s these blocks were very busy with many stores. The Jefferson Highway was replaced with the new numbered US Highway system in the late 1920s. The Fannin County Leader is the paper of record for Fannin County Texas.