Johnson City and the LBJ Ranch
I was never much of a history student in my early school years. Then I began homeschooling my kids, and I determined to make history come alive for them, and then, when I took history as I sought my bachelor's degree, my professor made history come alive for us, too. But through it all, we never studied Lyndon Baines Johnson or Lady Bird Johnson, except in passing. When I saw we were going to be near their ranch, I knew I wanted to visit and get acquainted with their legacy.
We arrived in Johnson City late in the day, after our visits at Pioneer Town and The Buggy Barn Museum, so we sought out our overnight stop first - the Gillespie County Rest Stop right in front of the LBJ ranch. It was beautiful, and reminded me of travel during my childhood.
As you can see, our dreary weather continues!
This beautiful church sits behind the welcome center and can be seen across the river from the Johnson family cemetery.
The next morning, we went to the historic site, just a mile down the road. Visitors are sent first to the state park site, where we picked up a free permit to drive the self-guided seven-mile route through the ranch. Before we left the building, we were invited to view a short film (25 minutes) about LBJ. It was a TV special by NBC that aired while Johnson was President - he gave a tour of the ranch. He came across so laid-back and more like a farm hand than leader of the free world. (And nothing like politicians of today, although I learned from a local a few days later that the TV persona did not reflect who he was to the locals. More on that in a later post.)
Unfortunately, the Texas White House (the Johnson's home on their ranch) is closed to the public indefinitely, so we were unable to see it. Building surrounded it, including the hangar that is now the National Park Visitor's Center and gift shop, and the communication buildings that I found interesting.
My favorite part of the LBJ Ranch was another farm within the property. I'll write a separate post about it tomorrow.
