Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site

Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site is a state park located along the Pedernales River in Gillespie County, Texas, United States west of Johnson City and east of Fredericksburg. The state created the park with donated land to honor Lyndon B. Johnson as a "national and world leader." The park opened to the public in 1970.

Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site
Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site
LocationGillespie County, Texas
Nearest cityStonewall
Coordinates30°14′15″N 98°37′34″W
Area732.75 acres (297 ha)
Established1965
Governing bodyTexas Parks and Wildlife Department

History

Friends of Johnson raised the money to buy the land across the Pedernales River from Johnson's Ranch (now part of the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park) for the park and donated the land to the State of Texas in 1965. The master plan for the park was developed by Austin-area architect J. Roy White, a personal friend of the Johnson family who had worked extensively on the Johnson Ranch; White also designed the park's visitor center.[1] The 269-acre (109 ha) facility was officially dedicated in August, 1970, in a ceremony attended by the Johnson family and a host of dignitaries. Since the dedication, the park has been expanded to approximately 732.75 acres (297 ha). One of the trustees was Johnson's close friend and political advisor, former state Attorney General John Ben Shepperd.

Features

The park has a large visitor center complex with interpretive center about Johnson's life. Tours of the LBJ Ranch are by permit only and are by self-guided auto tour departing from the state park's visitor center.

The park offers recreational facilities for swimming, tennis and baseball. Fishing is allowed in the Pedernales River and there is a nature trail for hiking. The park maintains small herds of Texas Longhorn cattle, American Bison and White-tailed Deer.

Sauer-Beckmann Farmstead
A park interpreter demonstrates a typical rural kitchen of 1918 at the Sauer-Beckmann Farmstead.

The Sauer-Beckmann Farmstead is a living history farm that presents rural Texas life as it was around 1918. The park employees wear period clothing and perform the daily routine of life using period tools and techniques. The farm was settled by John Sauer and his family in the late 19th century and then by Herman Beckmann and his sons in the early 20th century.

See also

References
  1. "J. Roy White Drawings". Texas Archival Resources Online. University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  • Parent, Laurence. The Official Guide to Texas State Parks. University of Texas Press, Austin. Fourth printing, 2005. pp 90–91.
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