Windmill and Water Tank

Gravity-fed water would have been a luxury in Lyndon Johnson's youth.

NPS Photo / Jack Burton

The windmill and water tank are located near a big live oak tree behind the house. The windmill was a Dempster model, and the water tank was originally situated in a tank house. For many years, the Johnson family did not have indoor plumbing. However, by the early 1920s, they had gravity-fed water to their house. Using wind power, the windmill would draw the water from the well into the storage tank. From there, water flowed with the pressure of gravity through pipes in the ground to the house.