Few places celebrate the life and contributions of President Lyndon Baines Johnson better than LBJ State Park & Historic Site and LBJ National Historical Park, each located between Johnson City and Stonewall on U.S. 290 in the Texas Hill Country.
Johnson called his ranch house “the second White House” because he conducted some of the nation’s business there. At times, under the spreading oak trees, the president hosted dignitaries and the White House news corps.
“All the world is welcome here,” he said.
The state park is on 717 acres. The land, which is directly across the Pedernales River from the ranch, was purchased by friends of the president, who raised the money to honor him.
The LBJ National Historical Park features the original Johnson settlement, the LBJ ranch house, and the Johnson Family Cemetery.
See how Johnson’s ancestors lived when they first arrived in the area in the two-room dogtrot Behrens Cabin that’s attached to the visitors center. Inside the cabin are furnishings that would have been found in the 1870s when the president’s ancestors settled here.
Costumed interpreters demonstrate rural 1900s life at the Sauer-Beckmann Farm. American bison, Texas longhorns, and white-tailed deer call the ranch home.
In Johnson City, check out LBJ’s boyhood home and farmstead. During the Christmas holidays, park officials offer a special treat as they turn it into an old-timey Christmas setting.
For more about the LBJ National Historical Park, call 830-868-7128. For more about LBJ State Park, call 830-644-2252.