Things to Do in Johnson City

• Visit Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park (Johnson City District): The Johnson City District of LBJ National Historical Park preserves Lyndon B. Johnson's boyhood home and the Johnson Settlement, a collection of buildings showing 1860s Hill Country ranch life on the original Johnson family homestead. The National Park Service offers guided tours of the boyhood home daily at scheduled times. A separate LBJ Ranch District sits 12 miles west in Stonewall.
• Explore Pedernales Falls State Park: Pedernales Falls State Park covers 5,212 acres along the Pedernales River in Blanco County, approximately 10 miles east of Johnson City and 25 miles west of Austin. The park opened in 1971 on the former Circle Bar Ranch and offers swimming, tubing, and fishing on the river, camping, and roughly 20 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails. The signature limestone falls and flats define the park's river section.
• Walk the historic courthouse square: Downtown Johnson City centers on the Blanco County courthouse square, which includes Blanco County government offices, historic commercial buildings, independent restaurants, and a handful of shops. The square is a few blocks from the LBJ boyhood home and Johnson Settlement and is walkable within a short radius.
• Drive to Fredericksburg via U.S. 290: Fredericksburg, about 30 miles west of Johnson City on U.S. 290, is a Hill Country destination for wineries, dining, shopping, and German-heritage history. The U.S. 290 corridor between the two towns is part of the Texas Hill Country Wine Trail and passes multiple tasting rooms and farm stands, including stops near Stonewall and Hye along the way.
• Day-trip to Enchanted Rock: Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, in Llano and Gillespie counties, is about an hour's drive northwest of Johnson City via U.S. 290 and RR 965. The 425-foot pink granite dome is a popular hiking destination on the Hill Country landscape and offers primitive camping, backcountry hiking, and rock climbing on the granite surface.
• Attend Johnson City's Lights Spectacular: During the holiday season the Blanco County courthouse and downtown Johnson City host the Lights Spectacular, an annual holiday light display on the courthouse grounds and surrounding streets. The event runs from the weekend after Thanksgiving through early January and draws visitors from across the Hill Country.

Major Employers in Johnson City

• Pedernales Electric Cooperative (Utilities): Pedernales Electric Cooperative is headquartered in Johnson City. Founded in 1938, the cooperative is described as the nation's largest distribution electric cooperative, serving more than 300,000 members across 8,100 square miles of Central Texas. The Johnson City headquarters is the cooperative's principal employment center.
• Blanco County government (Public administration): Blanco County offices, courts, law enforcement, and public works positions based primarily at the county courthouse complex in downtown Johnson City. Johnson City became the Blanco County seat in 1890.
• Johnson City ISD (Education): Johnson City Independent School District operates three campuses in Johnson City — an elementary, a middle school, and Lyndon B. Johnson High School — serving approximately 679 students. The district is the city's largest education employer.
• LBJ National Historical Park (National Park Service) (Government / Tourism): The National Park Service operates the Johnson City District of Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park, preserving LBJ's boyhood home and the Johnson Settlement. NPS rangers, maintenance staff, and interpretive staff work out of the Johnson City site year-round.
• Tourism and hospitality corridor (Hospitality & Tourism): Restaurants, lodging, and retail along U.S. 281 and U.S. 290 serve year-round Hill Country tourism traffic between Austin and Fredericksburg. The LBJ sites, Pedernales Falls State Park, and the Hill Country Wine Trail corridor anchor a tourism economy that employs a significant share of the city's workforce.

Johnson City Schools

Johnson City is served by Johnson City Independent School District, a small rural district enrolling approximately 679 students (2026) across three campuses — an elementary, a middle school, and Lyndon B. Johnson High School. All three campuses are located within the city. The district has contracted slightly over the past decade, characteristic of rural Central Texas districts outside the fastest-growing Austin suburbs.

School District: Johnson City ISD

Public Schools

• Lyndon B. Johnson High School - The district's high school, named for President Lyndon B. Johnson. Part of Johnson City ISD, a small rural district with roughly 679 total students across all grades.
• Johnson City Middle School - The district's middle school campus, serving grades 6-8. Part of Johnson City Independent School District.
• Johnson City Elementary School - The district's elementary campus, serving students through grade 5. Part of Johnson City ISD, a rural Blanco County district based in the city of Johnson City.

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