Sunday, January 27, 2013

RonnieAdventure #0038 – LBJ Ranch, Gillespie County, Texas

On a recent visit to Texas I stopped by the LBJ Ranch for a tour of the “Texas White House” during the Johnson administration; and much to my surprise, I couldn’t believe that the “Ranch” was a long, narrow strip of land containing only 1,570 acres. Why in Nevada, we call that a garden plot!

Most of the Ranch consists of a fenced airstrip for landing what LBJ referred to as "Air Force One-Half,” a Lockheed VC-140 JetStar that carried passengers between Austin (50 miles to the east) and the Ranch near Johnson City. In 2010 someone found the JetStar in an Air Force salvage yard in Tucson, so they had the plane refurbished and shipped to the Ranch where it is now on display.

There are a number of buildings on the Ranch that are available for viewing on a self-guided tour, including the LBJ Birthplace (reconstructed), the Junction School, Sam Johnson Home, the Show Barn, the Johnson Cemetery, the Texas White House (guided tour only), and a number of the Johnson family automobiles. Although LBJ attended the Junction School for a few months when he was four years old, the family moved down the road a bit to Johnson City where LBJ lived until he went to college. It was in the Johnson City elementary school where LBJ learned his 3-R’s – readin, ritin, and rithmetic!

The family home in Johnson City is also open for guided tours by the National Park Service. Two different movies are available for viewing in the visitor’s center -- One movie gives a summary of the Johnson White House years and the other movie (that I did not see) was reported to be about Lady Bird and Texas wildflowers.

Ya-all stayed tuned for some more Texas Adventures!
 
Visitor Center in Johnson City
 
Johnson House in Johnson City
 
"Texas White House" on LBJ Ranch
 
"Air Force One-Half"
 
LBJ's Lincoln Convertable
 
Junction School located on the LBJ Ranch
 
 
 

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