George E. Johnson

The district's own account of the lake starts where the plaque stops. Johnson Lake was built to re-time flows through two hydroplants downstream on the Supply Canal and into the Phelps and E67 canals, and it still does. Under an agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, flows through the J-2 plant are stepped up between 5 and 10 a.m. to keep whooping cranes from being forced off Platte River roosts in the dark, and the lake swings two to three feet a cycle from March 18 to April 30 and October 17 to November 10.

What the plaque says

George E. Johnson Johnson Lake was named for George E. Johnson, 1885-1967. He was both an electrical and a civil engineer. As State Engineer, 1915-1923, he laid out the Nebraska highway system. He was a Nebraska pioneer in the early days of radio and aviation and pioneered in the use of Nebraska farm products to make industrial alcohol. In 1961 he received the Nebraska Builder Award from the University of Nebraska for his many years of service to the State. When Johnson Lake was formed he was Chief Engineer and General Manager of Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District. Through his efforts and the efforts of others like him came the system of dams, reservoirs, and canals which provides flood protection, irrigation, recreation, and electric power in the South Platte area. Part of Nebraska's "Chain O'Lakes" built by Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District from 1934-1941, Johnson Lake is the largest of the canyon lakes in the Tri-County development. Its dam was closed and it started to fill in December, 1940. Johnson Lake State Recreation Area is one of more than 50 such areas managed by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Nebraska State Historical Society

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Central Platte Valley — 9.5 mi
• Central Platte Valley — 10.0 mi
• The 100th Meridian — 14 mi
• Bertrand 1885-1985 — 15 mi