This year marks the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s return to the LBJ Ranch in Stonewall after serving five-and-a-half years in the White House. Having decided not to seek a second full term as president, Johnson spent his retirement in the Hill Country where he grew up, largely out of the public eye. Accounts of Johnson’s final years recall him as a hands-on ranch manager who also dedicated himself to the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum at UT-Austin; writing his presidential memoir, The Vantage Point; and entertaining friends. This photo, taken one year before his retirement, shows Johnson at the ranch with his grandson, Patrick Lyndon Nugent, and dog, Yuki. Johnson died four years after moving back to Texas and was buried in the family graveyard on the ranch, which is now open to the public as a national historical park (nps.gov/lyjo).
Know of any fascinating vintage Texas photographs? Send copies or ideas to [email protected].
From the March 2019 issue
