First Baptist Church of Johnson City

Among the Johnsons of Johnson City was Samuel Ealy Johnson Jr., the president's father, born at Buda in 1877. Forced to leave school early, he passed the teacher's examination and taught at White Oak School in Sandy and at Rocky School near Hye. In 1904 he was elected to the legislature, succeeding his future father-in-law, Joseph Wilson Baines, and he served six terms. He wrote the Alamo Purchase Bill, which put $65,000 toward buying the Alamo property, and the Blue Sky Law. He died on October 23, 1937, and was buried in the family cemetery.

What the plaque says

First Baptist Church of Johnson City In 1879, on July 19-20 or August 16-17, seven members formed the Missionary Baptist Church of Christ, present First Baptist Church. The Rev. James E. Bell (b. 1843) held services in the schoolhouse. Lumber for the original church building, erected here in 1900, was hauled in wagons from Austin. A 5,500-square feet building dedicated in 1951 and destroyed by fire in 1966 was replaced by the present structure in 1968. Some members of President Lyndon B. Johnson's family attended this church. In 1978 mission work of the church expanded to include sponsorship of Pedernales Valley Mission. (1979)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park — steps away
  The Johnson City district of the national park: the Victorian house where Lyndon Johnson grew up, and the stone barns his grandfather built in the Johnson Settlement.
• Pedernales Falls State Park — 10 mi
  The Pedernales stepping down over layered limestone east of Johnson City, a river that can turn from a placid stream to a torrent in minutes.
• Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site — 13 mi
  A state park on the Pedernales opposite the LBJ Ranch, with a working Texas-German farm kept as it was around the First World War and the permit desk for the ranch tour.
• Luckenbach — 22 mi
  A store, saloon and dance hall on Grape Creek that a humorist bought in 1971, declared a free state of mind, and turned into a pilgrimage for Texas music.

More markers nearby

• 1894 Blanco County Jail — steps away
• Dr. James F. Barnwell — steps away
• Blanco County — steps away
• First Christian Church of Johnson City — steps away