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Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park
President Johnson's birthplace in Gillespie County
Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park Show map of Texas Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park Show map of the United States
Location	Blanco and Gillespie County, Texas, U.S.
Nearest city	Johnson City, Texas; Stonewall, Texas
Coordinates	30°14′27″N 98°37′27″W / 30.24083°N 98.62417°W / 30.24083; -98.62417
Area	1,571 acres (6.36 km2)
Established	December 2, 1969
Visitors	110,791 (in 2012)[1]
Governing body	National Park Service
Website	www.nps.gov/lyjo
Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Area	1,571 acres (636 ha)
Built	1914 (1914)
NRHP reference No.	69000202[2]
RTHL No.	Birthplace: 10062 Boyhood home: 2828
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	December 2, 1969
Designated NHL	May 23, 1966[3]
Designated RTHL	Birthplace: 1967 Boyhood home: 1965

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park in central Texas about 50 miles (80 km) west of Austin in the Texas Hill Country.^[4] The park protects the birthplace, home, ranch, and grave of Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th president of the United States.^[5] During Johnson's administration, the LBJ Ranch was known as the Texas White House because the President spent approximately 20% of his time in office there.^[6]

Districts and features[edit]

The park consists of two discontiguous areas, the Johnson City District and the LBJ Ranch District. The Johnson City District, located in Johnson City, contains the boyhood home of President Johnson and his grandparents' log cabin settlement, as well as the National Park Visitor Center. The LBJ Ranch District is located roughly 14 miles (23 km) west of Johnson City along the north side of the Pedernales RiverinGillespie County. The ranch was the Johnson family retreat during his period of greatest influence, and is the site of the family cemetery. This gives the visitors a perspective of President Johnson's life when he was in office.

Johnson City[edit]

The Johnson City Unit is located on the south side of the city, with parking areas at the visitor center on Lady Bird Lane, and on United States Route 290 at N Street. The visitor center, located in a former hospital, provides an introduction to the park, exhibits and films about President Johnson and his wife Lady Bird. A short way north of the visitor center is the Johnson Boyhood Home, an 1880s Victorian house where he lived with his parents from age five. This house, restored by Johnson while he was president, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.^[7] West of the visitor center is the Johnson Settlement, a restored prairie in which are found the dogtrot house of Johnson's grandfather, and other 19th-century agricultural buildings.

LBJ Ranch[edit]

The ranch is located on the north side of United States Route 290, about fourteen miles west of Johnson City, with its main access through the Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site, which lies between the highway and the south bank of the Pedernales River. The National Park Service lands lie north of the river. Among the sites preserved at the Ranch are the President's first school, his reconstructed birthplace, the Texas White House, and the Johnson Family Cemetery, where both President and Lady Bird Johnson are buried.^[8] Visitors take a self-guided auto driving tour from State Park visitor center; a permit is required.^[9] On August 2, 2018, the National Park Service announced that the Texas White House and Pool House were temporarily closed to visitors due to structural issues.^[10]

History[edit]

The park was authorized on December 2, 1969, as Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Site and was redesignated as a National Historical Park on December 28, 1980.^[11][12] Present holdings are approximately 1,570 acres (6.4 km²), 674 acres (2.7 km²) of which are federal. The Johnson family continues to donate land to this property; their most recent gift was in April 1995.^[13]

Gallery[edit]

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  LBJ State Park and Historic Area is separated by the Pedernales River from the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park.
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  LBJ State Park and Historic Area is separated by the Pedernales River from the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park.
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  Sign at entrance to Johnson National Historical Park
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  Rear view of President Johnson birthplace
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  Young Johnson briefly attended this former one-room school c. 1914.
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  Outhouse at Johnson birthplace
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  Cattle in the park are descended from former livestock of President Johnson.
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  Farmhouse of Samuel Ealy Johnson, Sr., the grandfather of President Johnson; he died when Lyndon was six years old.
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  Though he was affiliated with the Disciples of Christ denomination, President Johnson often worshipped while at his ranch at the Trinity Lutheran Church (shown in the background).
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  Air Force One used to bring Lyndon Johnson to the Texas White House
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  Chuckwagon at LBJ Ranch used for preparing barbecues.
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  Large live oak tree in front of entrance to LBJ Ranch
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  The pool at the LBJ Ranch was installed in 1955 after then Senator Johnson's heart attack. He was supposed to use it for exercise, but Mrs. Johnson spent far more time in the water.
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  Guests at the LBJ Ranch were sometimes invited to place their names in cement for posterity; here one can see the names of Orville Freeman, Curtis LeMay, and singer Eddy Arnold.
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  United States Secret Service agents guarding President Johnson lived in this small house while on duty at the LBJ Ranch.
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  The graves of Lady Bird and Lyndon Johnson (his with flag) at family cemetery in the national historical park; the public is not allowed entry into the cemetery.
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  President Johnson and Vice-president-elect Humphrey in LBJ ranch shortly after winning 1964 election

See also[edit]

• List of National Historic Landmarks in Texas
• List of residences of presidents of the United States
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Blanco County, Texas
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Gillespie County, Texas
• Presidential memorials in the United States
• Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Blanco County
• Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Gillespie County

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park.

• Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park official site
• Secondary National Park Service site on Johnson National Historic Site
• Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park from the Handbook of Texas Online
• "Life Portrait of Lyndon B. Johnson", from C-SPAN's American Presidents: Life Portraits, broadcast from the LBJ Ranch, November 12, 1999
• The Johnsons of Johnson City, KPRC television special from about the LBJ Ranch, from the Texas Archive of the Moving Image