Binion Syrup Mill Far Left: R. E. L. (Uncle Eddie Binion) and his two sons; Tom & Lee	Binion Home Place Binion Family [1909]

Thomas Noel Binion (1827-1900) and Pauline Walker Binion (1829-1915) migrated to Texas after the Civil War. They First settled in Fannin County, and then moved here to the Oxford Community in Grayson County where they purchased this 107-acre farm in 1871. Thomas and Pauline reared four children here: Zeph (1856-1928), Homer (1865-1926), Robert E. Lee "Eddie" (1869-1945), and Sarah (1872-1955). Following the deaths of Thomas and Pauline, the land was inherited by their children.

Eddie Binion became a merchant in nearby Pilot Grove, but moved back to the family homestead with his sister Sarah after the death of his wife. Eddie raised sugar cane and operated a syrup mill here from the turn of the century until the 1940s. The mill first used mules to operate the crusher, and wood fires to cook the molasses. When fuel oil and coal were readily available in the 1920s, a piston engine replaced the mule, and coal replaced the wood fires.

During the depression years, cane continued to arrive, but money to purchase coal and fuel oil diminished. The mule was reinstated, but the Binion syrup mill foundered in the 1940s. The mill was dismantled and the iron and steel sold for use in World War II.