Johnson Settlement Area, Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park cultural landscape inventory
Abstract
The Cultural Landscape Inventory is a comprehensive inventory of all historically significant landscapes within the National Park Service. This cultural landscape inventory documents the Johnson Settlement Area at the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park in Johnson City, Texas. The Johnson Settlement Area served as the headquarters for former president Lyndon B. Johnson’s paternal grandparents, Samuel Ealy Johnson and Eliza Bunton’s, open-range cattle ranch from 1867 through 1872. After the collapse of the cattle ranching enterprise, the land was sold to James Polk Johnson and later converted into a small-scale farm by John Bruckner. From 1970 through 1972, Lyndon B. Johnson was involved with the planning, acquisition, and donation of a portion of the original settlement property to the National Park Service. In 1972, a major restoration and reconstruction project was completed as the property was converted into an historic interpretive landscape administered by the National Park Service. The Johnson Settlement Area is primarily an open pastoral landscape with reconstructed livestock corrals and a cluster of restored and reconstructed building and structures that collectively convey the ranching and frontier heritage of former president Lyndon B. Johnson. The cultural landscape inventory documents the physical development and historical significance of the Johnson Settlement Area. The inventory evaluates the landscape characteristics of the district and considers the integrity and overall condition of this historic vernacular landscape. Further, the inventory assesses eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places. The Johnson Settlement Area Cultural Landscape Inventory expands the 1990 National Register of Historic Places nomination in its period of significance, boundaries and acreage, and National Register Criteria.