LBJ centennial spurs the revived interest in his Hill Country sites

August 17, 2008|Doug Warren, Globe Correspondent

STONEWALL - Near the Pedernales River, a statue of Lyndon Baines Johnson stands, pointing in perpetuity to the ranchland on the opposite bank where he was born, where he died, and where he is buried.

At 8 feet, the bronze figure of the nation's 36th president is only slightly larger than life, but it casts a long shadow, as does Johnson's legacy on US history and his beloved Texas Hill Country.

Today, with the nation pursuing another unpopular foreign war, under a president with much shallower Texas roots, interest in LBJ is on the rise. The national historic site that bears Johnson's name - split between Stonewall and Johnson City, 14 miles east - has seen a 20 percent increase in attendance since 2006.

Visitors to the Hill Country and nearby cities can explore all aspects of Johnson's life (1908-73) and storied political career. A state park named in his honor borders the national site. His presidential library is in nearby Austin and a museum that focuses on his college career at what was then Southwest Texas State Teachers College opened in San Marcos in 2006. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, also in Austin, fittingly preserves the commitment to environmental protection and beautification initiated by the first lady.

And with the 100th anniversary of his birth on Aug. 27, change is coming to the place Johnson called home: the LBJ Ranch and what became known around the world as the Texas White House.

"The ranch was always the nugget that was home," said Luci Baines Johnson, 61, the president's younger daughter, in a phone interview from her Austin office. "My father in two days at the ranch got more renewal than most people get from two weeks in the Caribbean."

Johnson flew to the 2,700-acre ranch 74 times during his presidency (1963-69), working 490 days at the Texas White House. He entertained world leaders here, laid the groundwork for landmark legislation to forge his "Great Society," and plotted the course of the Vietnam War. After her husband's death, Lady Bird lived at the ranch part time until her death last year at 94.

Because Mrs. Johnson and her family - and her Secret Service detail - were frequently in residence, public access to the ranch was largely limited to bus tours run by the National Park Service out of the state historic site. But starting Aug. 27, visitors will be able to enter Johnson's restored office as the first step in a multiyear process to open the entire Texas White House to the public.

"Our job is to protect the park resources, but also promote the story," said F. Gus Sanchez, chief of interpretation and resources management at the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park. "With the large issues facing the nation today, it's not an accident that interest is growing at this time."