In 1879, the first commercial electric station opened in San Francisco, California. Soon, people were enjoying the benefits of electricity in cities across the United States. Fifty years later, however, much of the Texas Hill Country remained without electric service. Kerosene lamps were the only source of illumination for homes, farms, and ranches. Providing electricity to rural farms and ranches was simply not profitable for suppliers.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt believed farmers and ranchers should have electricity. In 1935, he established the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) to help fund the delivery of electricity to rural areas. Even then, population requirements and a shortage of funding kept the Hill Country in the dark.

Lyndon B. Johnson, a 28-year-old Congressman, and E. Babe Smith, a Hill Country rancher, brought the region hope. Johnson lobbied the Roosevelt administration for funding and fought its population requirements while Smith canvassed the Hill Country to sign up farmers and ranchers for electric service. PEC’s early Board of Directors stand outside PEC headquarters with Lyndon B. Johnson.

The efforts of Johnson and Smith were successful. On September 27, 1938, with about 3,000 Hill Country families signed up for electric service, Pedernales Electric Cooperative was awarded a $1,332,000 loan to build nearly 1,800 miles of electric lines. That grueling task was assigned to PEC’s hardworking linemen.

PEC’s membership and service grew rapidly. PEC’s first headquarters building was erected in Johnson City in 1939. In the 1940s, PEC became the largest member-owned co-op in the world.

Serving a community is more than providing electricity. Over the years, PEC staff and Board have contributed time and money to area events and charities. This includes participating in local parades. PEC’s first parade entry may have been this equestrian one in Johnson City, November 1939. Eventually PEC gave horses a rest and started using trucks.

As a young man running for the U.S. Senate, Lyndon B. Johnson went the extra mile to show people the benefits of electricity. At right, he’s shown in front of PEC headquarters during a 1961 trip to Johnson City as Vice President of the United States.