Agricultural Complex: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park, National Park Service

Degutis, Erin; Foster, Lance

The Agricultural Complex component landscape is part of the LBJ Ranch District at the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park, located west of Austin, Texas. The complex consists of agricultural fields, a Show Barn complex, the Jordan River bottom, cattle pens and corrals, a pecan orchard, and an assortment of earthen dams and tanks.The Agricultural Complex is adjacent to the other two component landscapes within the LBJ Ranch District: the Texas White House and the Johnson Family Farm Historic Area. The landscape period of significance is 1869 to 1973, identifying initial settlement and development of the ranch by President Johnson’s grandparents and extending to include his own birth, boyhood, political years, retirement, and burial at the Johnson Family Cemetery. The landscape provides an image of the life experiences of a major historic figure through time, while also representing the functional aspects of settlement and ranch operation in this particular region. Its significance is associated with politics and the U.S. Presidency, and particularly the lives of 36th President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife Ladybird Johnson. During the historic period, the Show Barn complex functioned for the display, care, and transport of LBJ’s livestock. The complex includes the Show Barn, Malechek House (ranch foreman’s residence), grain bins, and a network of corrals, cattle pens, scales, and a loading chute. Near the Show Barn complex are the bus maintenance barn and VIP campsites. The big hay shed and communication tower are also nearby, as well as the boneyard (historic maintenance and discarded materials). A series of fenced fields radiate outward from the Show Barn complex, some used for livestock pasture and others for growing crops. The LBJ Airstrip, constructed through the center of the fields by LBJ, divides the Agricultural Complex landscape. Two service roads, Malechek and Bailey, run parallel along both sides of the Agricultural Complex. The pecan orchard and the river bottoms serve as a buffer zone between the Texas White House and the Johnson Family Farm Historic Area component landscapes. It is important to note that there is some overlapping of component landscapes, as some areas and features (such as the Old Martin Barn) within the Texas White House component landscape were historically used for agricultural purposes. Also, there is some overlapping of agricultural features associated with the Jordan farm (previously the Johnson farm operated by Sam E. Johnson, Jr.) that extend into the present component landscapes of the Agricultural Complex and Johnson Family Farm Historic Area. The landscapes of the Agricultural Complex and portions of the Texas White House and Johnson Family Farm Historic Area were actively farmed by various owners, including the Meier family (1882-1906), the Martins (1909-1951), and the Johnsons (1951-present). All these farming periods contribute to the site’s significance, as the Meiers built the rock house which forms the core of the Texas White House, the Martins made further additions to the ranch house (as well as being LBJ’s paternal aunt and uncle), and, of course, LBJ himself operated the ranch. In summary, the landscape of the Agricultural Complex, developed around the rich floodplain soils and water of the Pedernales River, is the reason that the Johnsons and their predecessors chose the site for settlement. While the Agricultural Complex is perhaps the most prosaic of the component landscapes, those other landscapes and their features would not exist were it not for the agricultural opportunities afforded by this more subtle component landscape. Together, each helps convey a broader historical image of the life of President Johnson.

Agricultural Complex: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park, National Park Service

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