William Whipple Johnson

The plaque follows Johnson into Strawn. The Handbook of Texas follows his coal. In 1887 he and Harvey founded the Johnson Coal Mining Company south of Strawn, with the Texas and Pacific as buyer, and formed a second company that November. Harvey died in January 1888, after selling his estate to William for a dollar. That summer Johnson arranged to sell the mines to the Texas and Pacific Coal Company, and the place called Johnsonville was renamed Thurber. By 1889 he and Anna were described as living in the finest house west of Fort Worth.

What the plaque says

William Whipple Johnson William Whipple Johnson, the oldest of seven children, was born on October 11, 1843 in Ionia, Michigan to Ethan S. and Jane B. (Whipple) Johnson. He attended school in Ypsilanti, Michigan and in 1860 formed a business partnership with his father and his younger brother Harvey. The three men provided merchandise to the people of Ionia and within several years expanded their interests to include real estate and a hotel operation. During the Panic of 1873 and the collapse of the national economy the business suffered greatly, and the men moved from Michigan, leaving their debts behind them. By 1880, William and Harvey were in Strawn, Texas, where they opened a business in the name of Anna Fatzinger Campbell, who became William's second wife. The T&P Railroad reached Strawn that same year. William and Anna both served as postmasters, and the family established Campbell and Company, a mercantile that catered to local railroad workers. The Johnson brothers also secured a contract with the railroad to provide crossties for the line, and they created many jobs in the area for cutting cedar posts. In 1885, with the death of their three-year-old daughter Marion, William and Anna built a mausoleum on their property. There, they later interred Harvey (d. 1888) and a son, William Harvey (d. 1894). William Johnson expanded his business interests to include coal and other mining operations, and livestock trading. In 1905, he and Anna bought a 4,200-acre ranch outside of Gordon and erected a new mausoleum for their children's remains. Anna placed William's body there in 1914 and set aside money for a more permanent structure here on Salt Point. It was completed in 1923, a year after her death. The Johnsons are remembered for creating communities and business opportunities throughout Palo Pinto County. (2004)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Lake Mineral Wells State Park and Trailway — 21 mi
  A Cross Timbers park on the old Camp Wolters grounds, built around a 1922 water-supply lake for a spa town, with Penitentiary Hollow's rock climbing and a 20-mile trailway.

More markers nearby

• First Baptist Church of Santo — 7.3 mi
• Mingus Baptist Church — 7.4 mi
• Santo East Cemetery — 8.1 mi
• Site of Snake Saloon — 9.2 mi