Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site

P O Box 238
Stonewall TX 78671
830/644-2252
Park Locator Map

History: Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site is in Gillespie County, between Fredericksburg and Johnson City, and contains 717.9 acres. Lyndon B. Johnson State Historical Park honors a native Texan who achieved the nation's highest office. To create the unique facility, friends of then President Johnson raised money to purchase property directly across the Pedernales River from the LBJ Ranch. In 1965, this land was accepted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and the park was opened in 1970.

The park's location is historically significant since it is in the heart of the former President's home country. The area has been influenced by three major cultures: Native Americans, Spanish and German. Indians roamed the Hill Country first, leaving behind artifacts which tell of their nomadic life. The Spanish conquistadors followed, bringing a culture which was to endure to the present. German immigrants settled the Hill Country in the early 1800s and their descendants still call it home. Their culture has had a major impact on the development of the region and the park itself. All of these cultures are represented at the park. The 269-acre 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.

Activities: Visitors to this day-use park can enjoy historical study, picnicking, nature study, fishing, swimming and view Texas longhorn cattle. The abundant wildlife of the Hill Country is highlighted by enclosures containing buffalo, longhorn, and white-tailed deer. These animals have played a part in the park's history and the local wildlife continues to be an important attraction for visitors. The park is famous for its spring wildflower display.

The Visitor Center is the focal point of Lyndon B. Johnson State Historical Park. It contains memorabilia from President Johnson's presidency and interactive displays about the Land and People that shaped a president. Attached to the Visitors Center is the Behrens Cabin, a two-room dogtrot cabin built by German immigrant H. C. Behrens during the 1870s. The furnishings are typical of such homes in that period. Visitors can further explore the history of these immigrants by viewing the 1860s Danz family log cabin located just west of the Visitor Center. An auditorium in the visitor center complex will accommodate 234 persons for state performances or films. An outdoor amphitheater is used for a variety of programs. A nature trail, including a Hill Country botanical exhibit, winds past wildlife enclosures stocked with bison, white-tailed deer, wild turkey, other native wildlife and longhorn cattle.

The Sauer-Beckmann Farmstead

Located east of the visitor center and off the nature trial, is a living history farm. Life on the farmstead is presented as it was in 1918. Park interpreters wear period clothing, do the farm and household chores as they were done at that time and also conduct tours for the visitors.

Bus tours of the LBJ Ranch are conducted by the National Park Service (N.P.S.) and start at the State Park Visitor Center. The tours pass by the one-room Junction School first attended by the four-year-old Lyndon B. Johnson in 1912 and stop by his reconstructed birthplace and the nearby Johnson family cemetery where the former President is buried. Tours also go throughout the working LBJ Ranch where cattle still are raised. A fee is charged for the tour. More information on N.P.S. tours at LBJ ranch.

The Sauer-Beckmann Farm - Rural Life, 1900-1918: When visitors can smell lunch being cooked on a wood-burning stove, they are close to the Sauer-Beckmann Living Farm! Here, costumed interpreters carry out the day-to-day activities of a turn-of-the-century Texas-German farm family. Some chores are seasonal, such as canning and butchering. Farm animals, however, must be cared for on a daily basis, including activities like feeding, milking, gathering eggs and slopping the hogs. Also, the house is cleaned, meals are cooked, butter is churned and cheese is made. Visitors may see the "family" scrubbing the floors with homemade lye soap, or plowing the garden with a team of horses.
The setting for the present-day living history activities is an authentic Hill Country farm. Johann and Christine Sauer, along with their four children, settled this land in 1869. Their family prospered and grew and, by 1885, several stone buildings were built near the original rock and log cabins. Eventually, the Sauers had 10 children. One of those, Augusta Sauer Lindig, served as midwife at the birth of President Johnson.

The Beckmann family acquired the property in 1900. A good cotton crop in 1915 allowed Emil and Emma Beckmann to build a new barn, to add a frame room onto the old rock structure and to construct porches connecting to a lovely Victorian house covered with fashionable pressed tin. In 1966, Edna Beckmann Hightower sold the site to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Archeological surveying and restoration work was undertaken and the farm opened to the public in 1975. Since then, time has stood still and the farm remains forever a small piece of Texas as it was at the beginning of the 20th century. Park visitors can experience the farm at their leisure and groups can make arrangements for tours.

Tours: Tours of the complex, including the Sauer-Beckmann farm with its smokehouse, Victorian style house, garden, and log house lasts approximately an hour; group reservations are accepted. No entrance fee is required, but donation boxes are available. LBJ Ranch Tram Tours begin at the state park Visitor Center Complex and are operated by the National Park Service. Individuals and families can take the tour on a first-come, first-serve basis. For group tours, call 830/868-7128, Ext. 231.

Tours of the LBJ Ranch, located across the Pedernales River, are offered by the National Park Service and depart from the LBJ State Park Visitor Center daily, except Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year's Day, when the national park is closed. A fee is charged for LBJ Ranch tours. Tours run from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily.

Other Related Links: LBJ National Historical Park

Old Tunnel Wildlife Management Area: From June through October, the Wildlife Division conducts various bat viewing opportunities at the Old Tunnel WMA . For more information the Old Tunnel Wildlife Management area at 830/238-4487.

Area Attractions: Nearby state parks include Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, Honey Creek State Natural Area, Blanco State Park, Pedernales Falls State Park, Guadalupe River State Park, and the Admiral Nimitz Museum State Historic Site - National Museum of the Pacific War. Other attractions include Johnson City, where LBJ's Boyhood Home and the NPS Visitor Center are located. The Johnson Settlement just west of the Boyhood Home, which includes a cluster of stone barns and buildings constructed by LBJ's grandfather, Sam Ealy Johnson, Sr., and Sam's brother Tom. Nearby Fredericksburg, founded in 1846, has many excellent examples of German architecture, shops, restaurants, and several bakeries.

The rich heritage of German culture is evident throughout the Texas Hill Country, where Texans of German descent proudly maintain links with the past. In Fredericksburg, some of the tourist attractions which reflect German culture are the Pioneer Museum, the Verein Kirche and the Peter Tatsch Home. Other historical buildings and activities are found throughout the Hill Country, especially in older, predominantly German settlements such as Boerne and New Braunfels. You may want to refer to nearby parks.

Facilities: Facilities include restrooms without showers; picnic sites with and without shade shelters; refreshment vending machines located at the visitors center; an interpretive center with new exhibits; an auditorium (capacity 234 people); an amphitheater; a swimming pool (closes this season on August 13, 2006); playgrounds; a 1.25-mile-long Paseo Del Arroyo (meaning "Creek Walk") Nature trail; a new 2-mile (1 mile each way) ADA nature trail. Historic structures; tennis courts, and a baseball field, which can be reserved through the park. Pool is open from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, hours are 12 noon to 8:00 p.m Wednesday through Sunday (also open on holidays). The pool may be rented before or after hours by private groups. Day use group rental facilities include a dining hall (capacity 70) and a group picnic area (capacity 200). A bookstore is operated by Western National Parks Association. The Resource Education Center (A.K.A. "the Scout Hut") is now available for day or overnight use (restricted to youth groups). Be sure to visit the Texas State Park Store in the Visitor Center Complex.

Park & Facility Fees
Facility & Trail Map (PDF 237.8 KB)

Flora/Fauna: Examples of abundant wildlife of the Hill County are highlighted by buffalos, longhorns, and white-tailed deer. The park is famous for its spring-blooming wildflower fields.

More information on the wildlife mentioned here:

Texas Wildlife Factsheets.

Elevation: 1197 ft.
Weather: July average high is 95; January average low is 36.

National Weather Service forecast for this area.

Schedule: Open: Individuals and families are welcome to visit at their leisure. The nature trail, grounds, and day-use picnic areas are open until dark. Park buildings are open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; the Sauer-Beckmann Living History Farm is open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. year-round, except Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day, to coincide with the closing of LBJ National Historical Park. There is no gate, so on those days visitors will still have access to the nature trails, picnic areas, fishing in the Pedernales River, wildlife viewing at the wildlife enclosures, etc. Visitors will have total driving access to all park roads as well as to the LBJ Gravesite and the LBJ Birthplace.

Directions: The park is located 2 miles east of Stonewall, 14 miles west of Johnson City on US Highway 290 toward Fredericksburg. Adjacent to both Ranch Road 1 and US Highway 290; enter on Park Road 52.

Current conditions can vary from day to day. For more details, contact the park.

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