Historians and naturalists come together at the Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site at Stonewall. The site offers plenty of nature trails coupled with interpretive living historians to inform visitors about Texas history. The park, owned and managed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), features historical exhibits, memorabilia and a living history farm with recreational sports, nature trails, bicycling opportunities and shopping.
Reservations are suggested for day visits and camping by going to texasstateparks.reserveamerica.com. For park information, visit tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/lyndon-b-johnson.
HONORING A PRESIDENT
The LBJ State Park and Historic Site honors Gillespie County native Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th President of the United States. A Visitor Center complex houses exhibits and memorabilia focusing on the late president’s two terms of office.
LIVING HISTORY
The park is also home to the World War I-era Sauer-Beckmann Farm. Here, rangers care for animals, grow crops and cook meals, all in period clothing.
The farm is named after the Sauer family who moved to the Hill Country in 1869. On their land, they built the two-story home, a smokehouse and tank house.
In 1900, the Sauers sold the property to the other namesake family, the Beckmanns. They lived and worked at the farm, planting cotton, building a new barn and adding a Victorian home before descendants eventually sold the site to TPWD.
PARK FACILITIES
The Visitor Center is the first stop for any tour to the LBJ Ranch which is a part of the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park. Attached to the Visitor Center is the Behrens Cabin, a two-room dogtrot cabin built during the 1840s by German immigrant Johannes Behrens. There’s also an outdoor amphitheater used for a variety of programs.
Numerous shaded picnic and rest areas, some with bathroom facilities, are available at the state park. Nearby are two lighted tennis courts.
The park’s dining hall and group picnic area are available by reservation, and are located on the banks of the Pedernales River, as well as a separate baseball diamond facility. Fishing is allowed without a license from the banks of state park lands. However, those who go into the waterways on a boat must have a fishing license.
NATURE TRAILS
Elsewhere in the park, a winding nature trail leads walkers to a larger-than-life bronze statue of the former president overlooking the Pedernales River. The trail also winds near a wildlife enclosure housing American bison and other areas with members of the Official State of Texas Longhorn Herd.
Another trail approximately a mile long is handicapped accessible and suitable for wheelchairs and strollers. It departs the Visitor Center and travels through fields of wildflowers and past the Texas Longhorns’ pen to the Danz cabins.
Every trail in the park is marked with directional signs and markers giving brief highlights of the path. Leashed pets are welcomed but are not allowed inside buildings.
CALENDAR
- Oct. 1 Basics of Gardening at Sauer-Beckmann Living History Farm
- Oct. 4 International Observe the Moon Night at Visitor Center Auditorium
- Oct. 11 From Field to Fabric at Sauer-Beckmann Living History Farm
- Nov. 11 Fun and Games at the Farm at Sauer-Beckmann Living History Farm
- Nov. 29 Deck the Halls at Sauer-Beckmann Living History Farm
- Dec. 25 56th Annual Tree Lighting at LBJ State Park Visitor Center
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