Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park ⓘ

President Johnson's mother, Rebekah Baines, was one of the few college-educated women in the area. Education was her passion. It was in this home that she taught elocution lessons and debating techniques to the neighborhood children. Lyndon must have listened well to her instructions, for he too taught debate strategies for a school team. Among other lessons, young Lyndon learned we should never form opinions based on first impressions and that power should be used for the public good, in the tradition of Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.

In February 1937, Lyndon Johnson returned home from Austin to seek the advice of his father - should he run for Congress? It was the first week of March, 1937, when Lyndon Johnson stood on the porch of his boyhood home to announce his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives for the Tenth District of the State of Texas. So began a career in public service that spanned more than three decades, culminated in the presidency of the United States, and ushered in landmark legislation such as Medicare, Head Start, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and forty-three national park authorizations or additions. As a boy he learned the value of education, and his administration passed more than sixty education bills - a fitting tribute to his mother. He didn't forget where he came from and worked hard to provide electricity throughout the rural counties that surround Johnson City. All his accomplishments have earned him a respect that is still alive today in the Texas Hill Country.

When the Boyhood Home was given to the National Park Service, it had been altered considerably from how it was when Lyndon Johnson was a boy. To return the home to its 1920s appearance, materials of the same type and age and historic construction and furnishing techniques were used. In 1973, after three years of efforts by historians, architects, carpenters, stonemasons, and many local business people, the restoration was completed and the Boyhood Home was opened to the public. The home is restored for you and all future visitors to enjoy. Please help us protect and preserve it by not touching any furnishings or artifacts.

Lyndon Johnson took great pride in his heritage and the land where he was born and nurtured. His grandparents were among those who settled, built, and converted the inhospitable land to one that grows fruit, feeds cattle, goats, and sheep, and is decorated with pleasant homes and lakes.

The Texas Hill Country shattered the dreams of many early pioneers. The landscape that confronted them when they first settled here was very different from the one you see today. It was deceptively lush. It seemed as though grass adorned all the beautiful hills, fish filled the streams, and game browsed the hillsides. But all the wildlife survived despite little rainfall, and each year when the rains did come, the rivers flooded. The grass hid the plants that might have alerted early settlers to the true nature of the Hill Country: cacti. Prickly pear and yucca took root here. In this land of extremes, it was either flood or drought.

In the late 1850s, Samuel Ealy Johnson Sr., Lyndon's grandfather, settled with his brother Tom in a one-room log cabin on 320 acres. It later became headquarters for the largest cattle driving operation in seven counties. After serving in the Civil War, Sam married Eliza Bunton of Caldwell County. In 1867 the newlyweds set up housekeeping in the log cabin, which by now also had an east room and breezeway (dog-trot).

The following year, at an opportune time, the brothers began their partnership in a cattle driving business. During the Civil War, unattended cattle on the Texas range increased significantly. After the war ended, the northern markets demanded beef. Just as rain provided the right conditions for lush growth in the Hill Country, so did increasing cattle and human populations provide opportunities for ambitious young men.

Business was prosperous that first year, and an additional 640 acres were acquired to further expand operations. The settlement location was ideal with the valleys of the Pedernales and the Blanco Rivers providing good pasture and water. It served as a rendezvous to which individual owners delivered their herds to the Johnsons.

Speculation was the key to success. Buying on credit in the spring, cattle drovers would return in the autumn with mules to sell and gold to pay for the herds they had driven north on the Chisholm Trail. The Johnsons had little difficulty purchasing cattle on credit because the return at the marketplace was great. A steer on the Texas range cost from six to ten dollars and was worth from thirty to forty dollars delivered at the Kansas railheads.

Several factors led to the demise of the Johnson partnership, but the main reason was essentially the same for failure as it was for success...high prices for cattle in the marketplace. Once again, the Hill Country proved to be a land of extremes. The deluge of opportunities inspired countless others to enter the cattle business which resulted in a flooded market and significantly lower prices. After suffering many financial reverses, Sam and Tom dissolved their partnership in 1871 and moved out of Blanco County.

Soon after President Johnson retired from office, the National Park Service, with funds donated by the former President, purchased the Johnson Settlement area. Four of the original buildings were still standing. Besides the cabin, they included a barn and cooler house built by James Polk Johnson, Samuel Ealy Johnson's nephew and namesake of Johnson City.

John Bruckner, a German immigrant, added a barn in 1884. Together these structures serve as a testament to the courage and resolve of Texas' early settlers.

As you enjoy your walk back in time try to imagine what life would have been like for the people who lived here in the 1860s and 1870s. The landscape and conditions are challenging, and with few resources compared to what we have today, they learned to survive and to prosper.

People with disabilities may request a permit at the visitor center, which will allow you to drive into the Johnson Settlement.

The first one-room schoolhouse on the Pedernales River was actually a tent in the Christadelphian campgrounds one mile east of the present day Junction School. In 1882, the tent was replaced by the community with a small frame building that served both as a school and church. On September 27, 1910 John Pehl sold to the school district 2 3/4 acres of land on the north side of the Pedernales River to a build a new school. The fall term opened in the new school on November 21, 1910. The Junction School served the area for over 37 years. In the spring of 1947 the Junction School became part of the Stonewall Consolidated School District. This move closed the Junction School and the students attended the nearby Stonewall School. In 1972 the National Park Foundation purchased the land to become part of the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park.

The Junction School was a typical one-room school. A wood stove sat in a sand box in the center of the school and was the only source of heat. Two kerosene lamps suspended from the ceiling at opposite ends of the room provided light. The teacher's desk and a chair were in front of the classroom. A small brass bell on the teacher's desk summoned the students. Students sat at double desks which had wooden tops with holes for the glass inkwells. The desks were arranged in rows facing the teacher's desk; the boys in one row and the girls in another.

One of the students at the Junction School was a 4-year old boy by the name of Lyndon Baines Johnson. He was born just up the road from the school on August 27, 1908 to the proud parents Sam and Rebekah Johnson. A typical little boy, he liked to ride his horse and play with other children and his dog, Bigham Young. Since Lyndon could hear the children outside before school and at recess, he would run down to the school house to play with them. His mother - constantly worried he would get lost - talked to the teacher, Miss Katie Deadrich, about enrolling him early into school. As an adult, President Johnson loved to relate how he had insisted upon sitting in Miss Katie's lap for his reading lessons. Johnson only attended Junction School for several months in 1912 since the school closed early due to a whooping cough epidemic. His family moved to Johnson City by the start of the next school year. In 1924, he graduated from high school in Johnson City and later attended Southwest Texas Teachers' College in San Marcos where he received his teaching degree. Johnson taught school for a while in Houston, Cotulla, and Pearsall, Texas.

The Johnson Administration saw the passage of over 60 education bills, more education legislation than in any other presidential administration. In comparison, only six major education bills were passed from the time of Lincoln to Kennedy. With such an interest in education, it was only fitting that President Johnson would come back to his first school to sign one of these major education bills. Sitting at a picnic table on the lawn of the Junction School with Miss Katie Deadrich (his first teacher) at his side, President Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act on April 11, 1965.

While planning the reconstruction of the birthplace, they were careful to follow the same architectural style as the original house built in 1889 by the President's grandfather Sam Ealy Johnson, Sr. Although it is exactly where it was originally, what you see now is a much nicer rendition. The original house was torn down in the 1940s. You can get an idea of how it used to look by peering at a picture hanging on the front wall of the barn behind the house-it was taken in 1897, and some of the Johnson clan is standing in front of the home. Although all the materials to reconstruct the birthplace were new, what they could salvage of the first structure they reused, such as pieces of the limestone fireplace and portions of the lumber.

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park takes you back in time to that period between 1964 and 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson delighted in showing guests his version of the birthplace. He found great pleasure in escorting visitors from room to room while reminiscing about his early years growing up on the Pedernales River.

It was to the old farm house that Sam Ealy Johnson Jr. brought his bride Rebekah Baines in 1907. To welcome his bride, Sam fixed up the original house by painting it bright yellow. One year and one week after they were married, Lyndon Baines Johnson, the first of five children, was born on August 27, 1908. Rebekah Luruth and Josefa Hermine, were also born in the house before the family moved to Johnson City in 1913, where Sam Houston and Lucia Huffman were born. When Lyndon Johnson was a child, the fashion was to have a "swept" or dirt yard, which is quite plain and unattractive by today's standards. The landscape of the reconstructed birthplace conforms to the 1964 to 1973 period of how a front lawn should appear.

Between 1908 and 1913, the three oldest children slept in the nursery/shed room at the front of the house. Some of the original timbers can be seen on the inside south wall of the room. The alphabet blocks are reminders of how the college-educated Rebekah tutored her children and taught two-year-old Lyndon his ABCs. The teddy bear, although not an original, is reminiscent of little Lyndon's favorite toy.

The china clown dish on the dresser was a Christmas gift that four-year-old Lyndon bought for his Aunt Lucie. He gave it to her three weeks early with the declaration, "It cost me a whole dime and it's worth every penny!" This artifact has been removed for conservation and a future permanent exhibit.

The home is restored for you and all future visitors to enjoy. Please help us protect and preserve it by not touching any furnishings or artifacts. Do not climb corral fences or approach the cattle. The Birthplace is wheelchair accessible, and the visitor center has available typed scripts and Braille scripts. Ask at the desk where you purchase your tokens.

On March 31, 1968, President Johnson shocked the Nation by going on television and announcing, "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President." He served out his term then retired to the LBJ Ranch in January, 1969. Though often plagued with poor health, he spent his final years writing his memoirs and overseeing the construction of the Lyndon B. Johnson Library and Museum on the campus of the University of Texas. He was also active in community affairs and attended numerous local events. He loved to ride around the ranch in his white convertibles overseeing the cattle operations and visiting with the many children who were growing up on the ranch. He often listened to the song "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" by B. J. Thomas while driving around the ranch in his Lincolns. President Johnson heard this song when he saw his favorite movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. On January 22, 1973, he was in his bedroom when he suffered his third heart attack and passed away. He was 64 years old.

Most of the people buried in the cemetery are related to Lyndon Johnson. His great grandmother, Priscilla Bunton, was the first person buried here. She passed away on April 28, 1905, during a violent storm, and her family was unable to cross the flooding river to lay her next to her husband in the Stonewall Community Cemetery. The family chose a grove of live oak trees on property belonging to Lyndon Johnson’s grandfather for Mrs. Bunton’s burial site. Her gravestone is the white Georgia marble marker with the lamb on top. In 1937, LBJ’s father, Sam Ealy Johnson, Jr., was buried in the cemetery. Sam Johnson had been a state legislator who was much admired for procuring pensions for Civil War veterans and securing passage of legislation to improve Hill Country roads. Sam had many friends and benefactors, and a large crowd came to pay their respects to him. Lyndon Johnson had just recently been elected as a U.S. congressman, so the funeral was attended by the Governor of Texas and other important dignitaries. In 1946, Frank Seaward, a rock mason from Stonewall, built the wall enclosing the cemetery. The wall was constructed to give identity to the cemetery, as well as to minimize the harmful effects of Pedernales River flooding. Repairs were made on the wall after major floods in 1952 and 1959.

President Johnson’s body lay in state at the LBJ Library in Austin, and then in state in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. President Johnson’s funeral at the LBJ Ranch took place on the cold and rainy day of January 25, 1973. He once told Mrs. Johnson, "When I die I don’t just want our friends who can come in their private planes. I want the men in their pickup trucks and the women whose slips hang down below their dresses to be welcome, too...." Hundreds of people attended the funeral, which was conducted by Reverend Billy Graham.

The most prominent gravestone in the cemetery is the gray one with the Martin name on it. Frank and Clarence Martin were President Johnson’s aunt and uncle. The President bought the ranch from Frank Martin in 1951. President Johnson’s gravestone is the tallest marker in the main row. To the right are his mother, Rebekah; his father, Sam Ealy, Jr.; and his paternal grandparents, Sam Ealy Sr. and Eliza. To the left of the President is where Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson is laid to rest. The remaining headstones belong to the President’s brother, Sam, and his three sisters, Rebekah, Josepha and Lucia. Rebekah’s husband, Oscar Bobbitt, is also buried in the main row as well as Lucia's husband, Birge Alexander.

The beautiful trees in the cemetery are live oaks--a predominantly Southern tree. They are unique among oaks in that they are evergreen; they keep their dark green canopy year-round. After one of the trees in the cemetery died, Mrs. Johnson had a tree ring study conducted on it, and the tree was found to be almost 200 years old. The fuzzy, round plants growing on the trees are ball moss. Ball moss is closely related to the better known Spanish moss. It is not actually a moss, but rather an epiphyte, or air plant. It attaches to the trees, but it derives its nutrition from the air, thus it is non-parasitic.

Mrs. Johnson recalls: "It was always Lyndon's favorite time, particularly around sunset, from the earliest spring until cold weather drove us in. And we have lots of interesting pictures in this front yard. I remember Adlai Stevenson, and the Speaker, Mr. Rayburn and Lyndon. And indeed, I remember President Truman's visit. I think he was here at least twice. Once was for the barbecue that we had for President Lopez-Mateos of Mexico down there in the grove on the river. He would have a long table and we have lots of pictures of the Chiefs of Staff, and Bob McNamara and MacGeorge Bundy, Lyndon all sitting out here doing business and General Westmoreland and various other people. And December was always the month of the budget. Whoever was in charge of the budget, they would come and stay days and days and they would work night and day. And even in December, there are mild days and frequently a part of that would be here. And the Washington shuttle, as we laughingly called it, a plane from Washington that would come down bringing a secretary of whatever department, McNamara of Defense or Freeman of Agriculture or Udall of Interior, to speak his piece for the needs of his particular department and, therefore, a lot of the work followed him." Lyndon Johnson was educated at a relatively small school called Southwest Teacher's college in San Marcos, and he sometimes felt insecure about his education around the Ivy-leaguers and intellectuals that he dealt with in Washington. He liked to have his staff meetings under the stately live oak in the front yard of the ranch house and discuss the issues of the day ranging from the Vietnam War and Civil Rights to new grasses for the ranch. Many of his advisors were unfamiliar with Texas ranches and would have to defer to the President on these issues. Here on his home turf he had what sports fan call the "home field advantage". He was more confident in persuading or twisting arms.

Behind the Texas White House is the hangar and the airstrip. The Johnsons had these constructed soon after buying the LBJ Ranch. While in office, President Johnson's large Air Force One was a jumbo jet called a 707. It never landed at the ranch because it was too heavy for the runway. The President would fly from Washington aboard the 707 to either San Antonio or Austin and then make the short hop to the ranch, usually by helicopter or car. President Johnson had smaller jets called Jetstars that could fly directly from Washington to the ranch.

These were the cars probably most associated with President Johnson. Here his Special Assistant, Joseph A. Califano, Jr recalls a ride with the President:

In the early afternoon, the President, with me next to him in the front seat, took his white Lincoln convertible, top down, for a drive around the ranch. It was incredibly hot; the dust clouds made it hard to breathe. But there was relief. As we drove around we were followed by a car and a station wagon with Secret Service agents. The President drank Cutty Sark scotch and soda out of a large white plastic foam cup. Periodically, Johnson would slow down and hold his left arm outside the car, shaking the cup and ice. A Secret Service agent would run up to the car, take the cup and go back to the station wagon. There another agent would refill it with ice, scotch, and soda as the first agent trotted behind the wagon. Then the first agent would run the refilled cup up to LBJ’s outstretched and waiting hand, as the President’s car moved slowly along.

The fire truck is a 1915-type 12 American La France given to the President by the people of Brady, Texas in 1964. When it was new it carried 1200 feet of standard fire hose and could deliver 1000 gallons of water per minute at any pressure desired up to 400 pounds per square inch. It is electrically equipped throughout, having lights near each gauge on the pump and around the motor, as well as an electric starter. The motor is a six cylinder and provides 105 horsepower.

President Johnson used his 1934 Ford Phaeton touring car for hunting. It's equipped with a V8 Lincoln Zepher engine and a steel plate underneath to prevent damage when going over rough terrain. It was a maroon color with tan upholstery until 1962 when it was repainted red. A bar with running water is mounted on back of the front seat. V.I.P.’s to ride in this car include Hubert Humphrey, Dean Rusk, and Robert McNamara. The car is believed to have been given to the President by Wesly West.

Built in Germany from 1961 to 1968, the Amphicar is the only civilian amphibious passenger automobile ever to be mass produced. A total of 3,878 vehicles were produced in four colors: Beach White, Regatta Red, Fjord Green (Aqua), and Lagoon Blue--the color of President Johnson's Amphicar.

President Johnson enjoyed surprising unsuspecting guests when taking them for a ride in his Amphicar.

The President, with Vicky McCammon in the seat alongside him and me in the back,was now driving around in a small blue car with the top down. We reached a steep incline at the edge of the lake and the car started rolling rapidly toward the water. The President shouted, "The brakes don’t work! The brakes won’t hold! We’re going in! We’re going under!" The car splashed into the water. I started to get out. Just then the car leveled and I realized we were in a Amphicar. The President laughed. As we putted along the lake then (and throughout the evening), he teased me. "Vicky, did you see what Joe did? He didn’t give a damn about his President. He just wanted to save his own skin and get out of the car." Then he’d roar. --Joseph A. Califano, Jr

The Jolly 500 Ghia apparently was a gift to President Johnson from the Fiat Company. It is a very

rare automobile. In fact, during his retirement,and after the establishment of the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park, the park curator encouraged the President to restore the vehicle to its original condition, but the restoration effort ended when the President was unable to find any replacement parts. The car was often used as transportation between the various outbuildings and was especially enjoyed by the children of those that worked for the President, giving them a chance to practice their driving skills.

The Cushman golf carts were used by President Johnson to transport the many friends, dignitaries and political leaders that landed on the LBJ airstrip, to and from the Texas Whitehouse. The airstrip, located behind the hanger, is 6300 feet long and 60 feet wide. Some notable passengers include West Germany’s Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, Mexico’s President Adolfo Lopez-Mateos and West Germany’s new Chancellor Ludwig Erhart. The LBJ Ranch was becoming the Western White House, where foreign leaders were entertained, advisors consulted, affairs of state were conducted, and the Texas Hill Country was opened to the eyes of the world.

The President was given a little green wagon that he enjoyed using at family gatherings. He would hitch up his two donkeys, Soup and Noodles, and give the children and their parents rides around the property. People were very important to President Johnson, especially his staff. He knew on a first name basis all those who worked for him--their families were like his own. He enjoyed making them feel important and happy; he took great pleasure in their smiles. The vehicles were one way that he could share his humor and express his love and affection. President Johnson did love people--all people.

The park offers a rich variety of avian habitats: mesquite grasslands; live oak, post oak, and cedar woodlands; open water and the margins of the Pedernales River including a narrow pecan gallery woodland. Live oak, post oak, mesquite, juniper, native pecan, sugar hackberry, yaupon, and sumac are abundant. Among the approximately 100 types of grasses that grow here are little bluestem, bushy bluestem, Canada wild rye, switchgrass, and eastern gamma grass. Dove weed (Croton), giant ragweed, and goldenrod are common. Over 25 species of conspicuous wildflowers bloom in profusion during spring and early summer.

Bird inventories within the park reflect the mingling of eastern and western species and races characteristic of the avifauna of the Edwards Plateau. Although some Hill Country specialties are rarely found, eastern and western subspecies commonly overlap. Many of the approximately forty permanent resident species, along with numerous summer residents, nest within the park. Of the permanent residents are the

Migrations in the spring are normally light, but among the species of migrating warblers are the Yellow Warbler and Common Yellowthroat. Especially during the winter, the Pedernales River hosts a number of duck species, cormorants, shorebirds, and waders.