Withers & Spauldings Building Reborn as the General Store Experience that LBJ Knew

Date: February 4, 2008
Contact: Sherry Justus, [phone], ext.245

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park announces the return of “Withers & Spauldings,” a newly-created general store exhibit area spanning several time periods from 1915-1973 and located on the corner of Main Street (U.S. Highway 290) and Nugent Avenue in Johnson City, Texas. The public will enter this detailed general store re-creation for the first time on Monday, February 18 (Presidents Day) following a ribbon-cutting at 10 a.m. Once inside, visitors can immerse themselves in the environment of a 1915-1920s-era general store that Lyndon Johnson knew as a child while also experiencing later years when LBJ came back to his home town to campaign and to visit with people he had known all his life. They can familiarize themselves with other Johnson City programs and structures, still in evidence, whose origins and locations were a direct result of Lyndon Johnson’s desire to give back to his home town.

Among the attractions of the Withers & Spauldings exhibit are the actual chair that President Johnson sat in when catching up on local news and the original full-size billboard proclaiming “Welcome to Blanco County/The Heartland of a Great American/Lyndon B. Johnson” that greeted drivers crossing the county line beginning in 1964.

In addition, the Johnson City Chamber of Commerce has its visitor center adjacent to the new exhibit, providing information and directions to those who wish to see more of Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park or to learn about the many other attractions found today in Lyndon Johnson’s hometown.