Trinity Lutheran Church

The Johnsons often attended services at Trinity Lutheran while at home on the LBJ Ranch.

© Randy von Liski

Quick Facts

Location:

Stonewall, Texas

OPEN TO PUBLIC:

No

MANAGED BY:

Trinity Lutheran Church of Stonewall, Texas

The congregation of Trinity Lutheran Church traces its history to 1902, when it was first organized in the nearby Albert, Texas schoolhouse. The members donated funds to purchase three acres of land overlooking the Pedernales River, and a small sanctuary was built here in 1904, just across from where Lyndon Johnson would be born in 1908. The elegant structure you see today was constructed in 1928. A fine example of the Gothic Revival style of architecture, the church features lovely arched window and door openings, a Gothic steeple, and its original pressed-metal siding. Worship services were conducted in the German language until 1950.

Although President Johnson was a member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and Lady Bird Johnson was Episcopalian, they would frequently attend services at Trinity Lutheran while at home on the LBJ Ranch.

The church grounds also became the site for one of the first Head Start Schools in the nation. Operation Head Start was a strategic program in President Johnson's Great Society educational program. Launched in the summer of 1965, Head Start provides pre-school children with health, nutrition, education, and other social services. Since its founding, more than 36 million children have participated in Head Start programs, preparing them for the classroom at schools around the country. After his retirement, Lyndon Johnson would visit the Stonewall Head Start, arriving with candy for the children who knew him, not as "Mr. President," but as "Mr. Jelly Bean."