This list consists of 26 wayside exhibits along the LBJ Ranch driving tour in Lyndon B. Johnson NHP. The markers are in order as you would encounter them on the driving tour.
On Ranch Road 1, 0.1 miles east of Park Road 52, on the left when traveling east.
For many years this low-water crossing served as the primary access to the LBJ Ranch; for non-Texans, it served as a dramatic entry into Lyndon Johnson’s world.
Constructed in 1951, the dam and crossing were the first improvements Lyndon . . . — — Map (db m91131) HM
On Park Road 49 at Klein Road, on the right when traveling west on Park Road 49.
Lyndon Baines Johnson first came to this school as a four-year-old in knee breeches and a collar. Here, surrounded by 30 students spanning seven grades, he received his first formal education. The future president attended the Junction School for . . . — — Map (db m91132) HM
Near Park Road 49 at Klein Road, on the right when traveling west.
Sitting at a table on this site on April 11, 1965, President Johnson signed the landmark Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. “As a former teacher,” the president said, “I have great expectations of what this law . . . — — Map (db m91135) HM
Near Park Road 49, 0.3 miles west of Klein Road, on the right when traveling west.
“I have a mighty fine grandson, smart as you find them. I expect him to be United States Senator before he is forty.”
Grandfather Sam Ealy Johnson, Sr., on young Lyndon Johnson
On this site on a rainy August night in . . . — — Map (db m91148) HM
Near Park Road 49, 0.3 miles west of Klein Road, on the left when traveling west.
Here on these familiar hills under these expansive skies and under these oak trees that he loved so much, his life has come full circle ...
his roots go deep here on this spot in the hill country.
From the eulogy delivered here by the . . . — — Map (db m91149) HM
Near Park Road 49, 0.3 miles west of Klein Road, on the left when traveling west.
I first remember walking along the banks of the Pedernales when I was a boy four or five years of age.
Lyndon Baines Johnson
The Pedernales River carves out the landscape of the Texas Hill Country, stretching 106 miles from . . . — — Map (db m91182) HM
Near Park Road 49, 0.3 miles west of Klein Road, on the left when traveling west.
It is a Society where no child will go unfed, and no youngster will go unschooled .... Where no citizen will be barred from any door because of his birthplace or his color .... Where peace and security is common among neighbors and possible . . . — — Map (db m91183) HM
Near Park Road 49, 0.3 miles west of Klein Road, on the left when traveling west.
Beyond the Pedernales is Stonewall’s Project Head Start building—a symbol of one of President Johnson’s enduring legacies to the American people. President Johnson initiated the Head Start program in 1965; it was one of many programs that . . . — — Map (db m91184) HM
On Park Road 49, 0.6 miles west of Klein Road, on the right when traveling west.
The welcome mat at the Johnson home read, “All the World is Welcome here.” But as the house became an alternate White House it soon became clear there was not enough room. Describing the steady stream of visitors in her home, Lady Bird . . . — — Map (db m91206) HM
On Park Road 49, 0.6 miles west of Klein Road, on the right when traveling west.
The scene was a common one: young Lyndon Johnson, only a few years old, toddling down the road to visit his grandparents in this house. Here he found a ready supply of apples, candy, and affection. The future president felt a powerful attraction to . . . — — Map (db m91208) HM
On Bailey Road, 0.3 miles north of Park Road 49, on the left when traveling north.
To a Texas rancher like Lyndon Johnson, conservation meant getting the most from the soil, water, and grass. The landscape before you reflects some of President Johnson’s conservation efforts. These upper fields are terraced to control erosion and . . . — — Map (db m91234) HM
On Bailey Road, 0.5 miles north of Park Road 49, on the left when traveling north.
Growing up in the scenic Texas Hill Country, Lyndon Johnson developed a deep appreciation and respect for the land. As part of his dream for a “Great Society” he felt a responsibility to protect the natural heritage of the United States. . . . — — Map (db m91235) HM
On Bailey Road, 0.8 miles north of Park Road 49, on the left when traveling north.
Lady Bird Johnson’s environmental ethic spanned her entire lifetime of 94 years. A child of East Texas, she spent many of her days outdoors. The sense of place that came from being close to the land never left her. She would eventually carry that . . . — — Map (db m91236) HM
On Bailey Road, 1 mile north of Park Road 49, on the left when traveling west.
In the Texas Hill Country water is more precious than gold. The Pedernales River and the many local creeks are the main sources of water for irrigation. As droughts are common here, supplemental irrigation was necessary for President Johnson to . . . — — Map (db m91238) HM
On Malecek Road, 1.2 miles north of Park Road 49, on the left when traveling south.
Imagine a plane roaring onto a newly constructed 3,000 foot grass airstrip. It’s 1953, and Senator Lyndon Johnson has arrived at the LBJ Ranch. Initially built to improve access to the Ranch during floods, the small airstrip soon proves inadequate . . . — — Map (db m91268) HM
On Malecek Road, 1.2 miles north of Park Road 49, on the right when traveling south.
This, said Lyndon Johnson, was “where the cattle go out and the money comes in.” In the working pens, ranch hands tended to the herds—branding, castrating, doctoring, and, most importantly, loading cattle out for shipment after a . . . — — Map (db m91269) HM
On Malecek Road, 1.2 miles north of Park Road 49, on the right when traveling south.
Although ranching produced just a fraction of the Johnson’s income, it constituted a major portion of the President’s public identity. The Johnsons maintained two herds of cattle on the LBJ Ranch—one of them a commercial herd sold for beef, . . . — — Map (db m91270) HM
On Malecek Road, 0.5 miles Park Road 49, on the right.
From his childhood and throughout his political career, Lyndon Johnson drew from his western heritage. The grandson of a Chisholm Trail cattle drover never forgot that “can do” spirit of the cowboy way. The LBJ Ranch was the best place . . . — — Map (db m91272) HM
On Malecek Road, 0.1 miles north of Park Road 49, on the right when traveling south.
In October 1961 the United States Air Force replaced twin engine, propeller driven aircraft with the four engine Lockheed JetStar for executive transport.
Lyndon Johnson was the first Vice President to have an aircraft assigned to him. His . . . — — Map (db m91281) HM
On Malecek Road, 0.1 miles north of Park Road 49, on the right when traveling south.
In 1951, Senator Lyndon Johnson purchased 240 acres from his Aunt Frank Martin. Beginning with this core property, he set out to establish a home base where he could continue his work away from Washington.
To improve access to the ranch, a 3000 . . . — — Map (db m91282) HM
On Malecek Road, 0.1 miles north of Park Road 49, on the right when traveling south.
The LBJ Ranch had but a single telephone line when Lyndon Johnson purchased the property in 1951. By the time he became vice president in 1960 the array of technology had grown to 15 local and long-distance phone lines as well as a fifty-foot-tall . . . — — Map (db m91283) HM
Although he frequented Washington for much of his adult life, President Johnson always considered this house his home. During the White House years, it served as a busy office, a working ranch, and a quiet refuge from the pressures of being . . . — — Map (db m91313) HM
For Lyndon Johnson, a traditional guest register was not enough. To commemorate the visits of dignitaries and friends to the Ranch, the Johnsons used “Friendship Stones.” Visitors etched their autographs and the date of their visit into . . . — — Map (db m91314) HM
The Secret Service had a presence in the Johnson family for forty-six years beginning on January 20, 1961 when Lyndon Johnson was inaugurated as vice president. Over that lifetime of service, agents witnessed many events, both in Washington and . . . — — Map (db m91316) HM
On Park Road 49, 0.1 miles west of Bailey Road, on the left when traveling west.
For many years this low-water crossing served as the primary access to the LBJ Ranch; for non-Texans, it served as a dramatic entry into LBJ’s world. The construction of this dam and crossing was the first improvement made to the ranch by Lyndon . . . — — Map (db m91317) HM