The Site of the Johnson Ranch on Town Creek,
the site of present day Johnson City, was at a very old crossroads.
A north-south route from Blanco to the Colorado
River was known as early as Spanish Times. Miranda in 1579 passed this
way crossing the Pedernales in the vicinity of Johnson City on his way
to inspect the supposed Silver deposits near Llano.
McCarty Spring just four miles to the northwest
of town was a favored way station for travelers between Austin and Fredericksburg.
Andrew Jackson Johnson, an older brother to Tom and Sam Johnson, located
his home near this spring in 1858 or 1859.
Topography and the conditions of early day
travel by horse or horse and wagon had long established this section of
the Pedernales Valley as a natural stopping place and cross-roads.
However, none of the early sites grew into
a lasting settlement other than as Ranch stations.
When Lyndon B. Johnson’s Grandfather,
Sam Ealy Johnson, Sr., gave up his cattle-driving business (driving cattle
up the Chisholm Trail had become unprofitable), he and his brother, Tom
Johnson, sold out their interests to a nephew, James Polk Johnson.
The nearest post office, mill and general
store were located fourteen miles south in Blanco/Pittsburg. There were
still renegade Indians roaming the area as well, so travel over any distance
was viewed with great apprehension. For that reason, settlers in the north
end of Blanco County began to plan for a city in the northern area.
In 1879, a barbecue was held at the springs
on Town Creek located on the Johnson Ranch. At this meeting three sites
for a town were offered, and the one accepted by vote of the settlers
was a 320 acre plot of land on the Pedernales River offered by James Polk
Johnson. After the decision, his many friends took him up on their shoulders
and cheered him for his victory and for the decision by the residents
to name the new town after him.
James Polk made the transition from rancher
to businessman very successfully. It was the organizational ability of
James Polk Johnson that converted a natural way station to a settled community
and a county seat. James Polk’s Grist Mill was a steam-powered cotton
gin and gristmill on Town Creek. Principal crops in this area were corn
and cotton. In the early 1940’s the gin was purchased by George Crofts
and converted to a milling and grain operation, which flourished until
the late 1970’s.
By the time of his premature death at age
40 in 1885, James Polk had built the first gristmill, the Pearl Hotel
and had under construction the building (now the Johnson City Bank) that
was to be a general merchandise store. This building came to have the
first jail in its basement, and served as the first Johnson City courthouse.
The first church congregation (Methodist) met in an upstairs room of this
building until their church building was constructed, and later Lyndon
B. Johnson had his local offices in this building constructed by his second
cousin.
Blanco County was created on February 11,
1858, from Burnet, Comal, Gillespie and Hays Counties. In establishing
the county the legislature mandated that the "county set thereof
shall also be called Blanco and should be within five miles of the center
of the county." Judge William E. Jones of Curry’s Creek was
appointed by the legislature to organize the county.
Following the formation of Kendall County
in 1862 from portions of Blanco and Kerr Counties with the subsequent
loss of territory and population on the south, pressure grew to move the
seat of government. This was the major factor in the relocation of the
county seat to Johnson City in 1890. The boundary line changes had positioned
Johnson City within two miles of the center of the county.
To learn more about the History of Johnson City Texas visit the following Web sites:
