James Polk Johnson Building

Johnson City spent most of its life as a small ranch trade center with a steady trickle of tourists. It had twenty businesses in 1914 and only seven in 1933, but by the mid-1950s, when the town incorporated, there were forty-two. Modern utilities came only in the 1930s, through legislation sponsored by Lyndon Johnson for the Lower Colorado River Authority and the Pedernales Electric Cooperative. During his presidency tourism became the town's main income and businesses rose to fifty-two; by 1986 they had fallen to twenty-six. The Record-Courier, the town's paper, began in 1883.

What the plaque says

James Polk Johnson Building Built by Johnson City founder James Polk Johnson (1845-1885), this structure has housed a variety of businesses and served as a community gathering place. In addition to serving as a community hall, opera house, and meeting place for churches and community groups, the structure was occupied by such commercial enterprises as banks, general stores, hotels, restaurants, and business offices. When the Blanco County seat moved to Johnson City in 1890 this building became a temporary county courthouse and jail. Former president Lyndon Johnson maintained an office here for a short time. (1992)

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

• Blanco County — steps away
• 1894 Blanco County Jail — steps away
• Dr. James Odiorne — steps away
• Dr. James F. Barnwell — steps away