Constructed of native stone quarried near the site, this home was built in 1882-83 in Pittsburg (later annexed by Blanco) by Irish craftsman Laurence H. Wall. The total construction cost was $1,000. John Wilson Baines and his wife Ruth Ament Huffman . . . — — Map (db m233938) HM
Chartered in 1883, Blanco High School began as a combination private and public school. A white limestone schoolhouse was constructed at this site and opened for classes in October 1884. During its early years, Blanco High School offered a six-month . . . — — Map (db m194073) HM
Organized, 1854, by Rev. Daniel Rawls, Methodist circuit rider. Six charter members. Worship was held in log cabin and frame building until 1882.
Present structure erected, dedicated, 1883. Still serves as church sanctuary. Native limestone . . . — — Map (db m194114) HM
In 1933, the Texas Legislature
established Blanco State Park on
more than 100 acres along the
Blanco River. Eighteen property
owners donated or sold land for
the public recreational area. The
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
made initial . . . — — Map (db m233939) HM
Led by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Silliman and the Rev. Joseph Bird (1821-1909), this congregation was organized on November 6, 1859, with five charter members. Worship services were held in a Union church shared with the local Methodist and Church of . . . — — Map (db m194103) HM
Born in Kentucky. Moved to Texas in 1833. In Texas Revolution he fought in Siege of Bexar (1835) and Battle of San Jacinto (1836). In 1842 took part in Somervell expedition against Mexico.
Resided at Washington-on-the-Brazos; present Kendall . . . — — Map (db m194072) HM
Born a slave in Virginia, Peyton Roberts became a freedman in Caldwell County, Texas, at the close of the Civil War. He soon moved west to this area and the settlement that developed around his farm became known as Peyton Colony. In 1874, under the . . . — — Map (db m194059) HM
Designed in Victorian style by architect F. E. Ruffini. Erected in 1886 as first permanent county courthouse, building served only four years - until 1890. County seat then moved to Johnson City.
Purchased by Chas. E. Crist, the structure . . . — — Map (db m31565) HM
In 1865, a group of freed persons, led by Peyton Roberts, established a community they named Peyton Colony. Roberts was born into slavery in Virginia. In the 1820s, he came to Texas with his owner, Jeremiah Roberts, settling in the Bastrop and . . . — — Map (db m194063) HM
In 1850's when first Catholic families came to Blanco County, worship was in homes and halls. Land was purchased in 1887. By efforts of Father Virgilius Draessel and people of Twin Sisters, this church was built and dedicated in 1889.
Stone for . . . — — Map (db m183635) HM
Named for Hiram ("Hye") Brown, founder of store, in 1880. Post office established 1886. Present store with Bavarian metalwork built in 1904. Owned by Deike family since 1923. At age four, Lyndon B. Johnson, future U.S. President, mailed a letter . . . — — Map (db m212042) HM
Noting the unhealthy dampness of the basement where prisoners were first kept after the Blanco County seat was moved to Johnson City, the Commissioners Court ordered the construction of this jail facility in 1893. Completed the following year, the . . . — — Map (db m126810) HM
Abundant timber, "stirrup-high" grass, and seemingly adequate water lured the hill country's first settlers to this land. But the land deceived. Only a thin layer of poor soil sustained this lush landscape.
The virgin grasses that attracted the . . . — — Map (db m236531) HM
Designed by San Antonio architect Henry T. Phelps, the 1916 Blanco County Courthouse was the first permanent courthouse built after the seat of government moved from Blanco to Johnson City in 1890. Serving as contractor for the project was . . . — — Map (db m31499) HM
From this headquarters site in the 1870s, the brothers J. T. and Sam Ealy Johnson started thousands of cattle up trails to Kansas and other shipping or market points. To the west, at Williamson's Creek, and at Deer Creek (southeast) the Johnsons had . . . — — Map (db m35352) HM
Dedicated to the military veterans of
Blanco County and their families.
With sincere appreciation for
their service, sacrifice, and commitment to
our country and all it stands for,
represented by the colors flying proudly above.
Lest . . . — — Map (db m31486) HM
James Franklin Barnwell was born on October 23, 1874 in Bowdon, Georgia. His family had a tradition of doctors, including his grandfather and three uncles. Following completion of his medical education at the University of Tennessee in 1896, . . . — — Map (db m126759) HM
Prominent pioneer physician, civic leader. Practiced medicine in Illinois and Kentucky before settling in Texas in 1857; moved to Blanco County in 1860. He was Civil War surgeon at Fort Mason, Tex. Served as commissioner and chief justice of . . . — — Map (db m126761) HM
E. Babe Smith was instrumental in the founding of Pedernales Electric Cooperative in the late 1930s. His vision, along with that of Congressman Lyndon B. Johnson and others, brought electric power to the farms and ranches of the Texas Hill Country. . . . — — Map (db m31095) HM
In 1879, on July 19-20 or August 16-17, seven members formed the Missionary Baptist Church of Christ, present First Baptist Church. The Rev. James E. Bell (b.1843) held services in the schoolhouse. Lumber for the original church building, erected . . . — — Map (db m31532) HM
>This congregation was organized in 1903 by the Rev. Tom Smith, an evangelist with the Texas Christian Missionary Society, and twenty-six charter members. Land for a church building was given by Judge N. T. Stubbs and a sanctuary was completed in . . . — — Map (db m31533) HM
Because of his love for this land, respect for his ancestors who settled here, and his devotion to both, Lyndon Johnson has been called the "last of the frontier presidents."
Confederate veteran Samuel Ealy Johnson, Sr., and his wife Eliza . . . — — Map (db m236532) HM
A native of Georgia, James Polk Johnson came to Texas with his family and grew up in DeWitt County. Following his service in the Confederate army during the Civil War, he moved to Blanco County to join his uncles in the cattle business. He bought . . . — — Map (db m126760) HM
Built by Johnson City founder James Polk Johnson (1845-1885), this structure has housed a variety of businesses and served as a community gathering place. In addition to serving as a community hall, opera house, and meeting place for churches and . . . — — Map (db m31126) HM
“It was just a big family town. Nobody was rich, and everybody had plenty to eat and plenty to wear, and Lyndon was no different from the rest of us. I miss that little town, that feeling that everybody would do anything for anybody else. . . . — — Map (db m31098) HM
The landscape around you reflects more than 100 years of agricultural use.
The Bruckner Barn The stone barn to your right was built in 1884 by John Bruckner, patriarch of the family that lived on this site for more than 80 years. In . . . — — Map (db m236512) HM
The sidewalk ahead leads to the Johnson Settlement, frontier home of President Johnson's paternal grandparents, Samuel Ealy Johnson, Sr., and Eliza Bunton Johnson.
Between 1867 and 1872 Sam Ealy Johnson, Sr., and his brother Tom drove huge herds . . . — — Map (db m31097) HM
Sam Ealy Johnson Jr. (1877-1937) and his wife Rebekah Baines Johnson (1881-1958) bought this residence in 1913. Sam, an educator and six-term Texas legislator, and Rebekah, an educator and journalist, raised five children here. The frame house was . . . — — Map (db m30926) HM
Lyndon Johnson spent most of ten years living in this home - a decade that profoundly affected the future president's view of the world.
A neat landscape in front of you bears little resemblance to the backyard Lyndon Johnson knew. In Johnson's . . . — — Map (db m31036) HM
By the 1930s, many residents of cities across the U.S. were benefiting from the common use of electricity. However, a vast majority of rural areas lacked electric service, which compounded depression-era problems for farmers whose crop returns were . . . — — Map (db m126764) HM
"Of all the things I have ever done, nothing has given me as much satisfaction as bringing power to the Hill Country of Texas." - Lyndon B. Johnson
In the 1930s, investor-owned utilities didn't consider it profitable to extend miles of . . . — — Map (db m236546) HM
These plaques were first
installed on the original
Pedernales Electric
Cooperative, Inc.
headquarters building in 1939.
Pedernales Electric Co-operative
- Incorporated -
Erected 1939
Dedicated to the extension of
electric . . . — — Map (db m31093) HM
Born in Alabama on August 24, 1845, James Polk Johnson was still a child when his family moved to Texas in search of a better life. As a teenager he served in the Civil War and then joined his uncles Tom and Sam Ealy Johnson in their cattle droving . . . — — Map (db m127310) HM
After the Civil War, Lyndon B. Johnson's grandfather, Sam Ealy Johnson, Sr., brought his bride Eliza to this place to live in a "Dog-trot" cabin. Sam and his brother, Tom, bought cattle on speculation to drive in great herds over the Chisholm Trail . . . — — Map (db m236527) HM
On February 11, 1858 the state legislature created Blanco county and mandated that the "county seat thereof shall also be called Blanco and should be within five miles of the center of the county. By 1862, however, boundary changes meant that the . . . — — Map (db m236549) HM
For five years (1867-1872) this cabin was the home of Samuel Ealy Johnson and his wife Eliza. While Sam ran the family's cattle business, Eliza attended by hand to virtually every detail of running the ranch. She hauled water, spun wool, made . . . — — Map (db m236513) HM
Just as Johnson City helped shape Lyndon Johnson, Lyndon Johnson helped shape the modern face of Johnson City. Throughout the town are buildings that reflect Johnson's quest to ease the hardships he knew here in his youth. The former LBJ Hospital - . . . — — Map (db m31128) HM
Born in Tennessee in 1836, Thomas C. Felps came to Texas in 1850 and to this area in 1856. He earned a living by freighting and joined the Blanco County Rangers during the Civil War. In 1863 he married Eliza V. White (b. 1846), a native of Ohio. . . . — — Map (db m131395) HM
