Beautification: The Environmental Legacy of Lady Bird Johnson

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Upcountry History Museum

The Upcountry History Museum, Greenville, SC, will be the first stop on the limited national tour of the exhibit Beautification: The Environmental Legacy of Lady Bird Johnson March 15 - September 7, 2025.

Curated and produced by the LBJ Presidential Library, Austin, Texas, Beautification: The Environmental Legacy of Lady Bird Johnson, focuses on the life and legacy of Lady Bird Johnson, wife of the 36th President of the United States, Lyndon Baines Johnson. The Upcountry History Museum, Greenville, SC, will be the exhibit’s first stop on its limited national tour.

The former first lady is most often associated with promoting environmental conservation and the wildflowers that brighten the country’s landscape. This exhibition guides visitors through a comprehensive story of Mrs. Johnson’s life, providing more context to her education, family, campaign efforts, acumen as a businesswoman, leadership in education and environmental conservation, and her role as a philanthropist.

Throughout her time in the White House, Lady Bird fought to make American cities more beautiful by planting flowers or adding park benches and by removing billboards and junkyards from the nation’s highways. Her efforts in these areas pushed her further into the political arena, more than any First Lady before her. Even Eleanor Roosevelt, Lady Bird’s declared role model, had not sat in on a legislative strategy session or been given assignments to influence Congressional votes. Lyndon Johnson supported Lady Bird’s efforts, publicly promoting her projects in his State of the Union speeches and during Cabinet meetings.

Beautification: The Environmental Legacy of Lady Bird Johnson will guide visitors through a comprehensive story of Mrs. Johnson’s life, from childhood through her post-White House years. Visitors will be immersed in the life and legacy of Lady Bird Johnson. Assets, on loan from the LBJ Presidential Library and the Johnsons daughters Lynda Bird Johnson Robb and Luci Baines Johnson include items from Whistle Stop campaign tours, gowns from White House galas, mementos from beautification projects; along with letters, photographs, oral histories, home movies, and artifacts – the majority of which have never been shared with the public.