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William Lon Johnson Papers, 1912-1967

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Johnson, W. Lon, 1882-1967
Title
William Lon Johnson Papers
Dates
1912-1967 (inclusive)
Quantity
98 Linear feet of shelf space, (232 Boxes)
Collection Number
Cage 195 (collection)
Summary
Papers of Lon Johnson, Senator, Lieutenant Governor, and Superior Court Judge in Washington State.
Repository
Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Access Restrictions

This collection is open and available for research use.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

William Lon Johnson (1882 November 11-1967 July 5) was born in Spokane, Missouri. He worked for one year as a schoolteacher in Stevens County, Washington, before quiting to become a student at Eastern Washington State College. After graduating, he worked for Stevens County for two years, as Deputy Assessor and Clerk, before going to law school in 1908. That year he also married Iva Clara Dickey.

Johnson worked as an attorney in Colville, Washington from 1913-1939. He was retained by multiple corporations, including: Dominion Silver-Lead Mining Company (1915); Northwest Magnesite Company (1920); Northport Smelting and Refining Company (1922); and Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada, Ltd. (1926), where he was involved in the 11-year litigation brought before the International Joint Commission of Canada and the United States. Johnson was state senator for Stevens and Pend Oreille Counties, from 1919-1924. After his term, he served as Lietenant Governor of Washington State in 1925.

In 1939, he was elected as Superior Court Judge of Stevens County, and semi-retired in 1958. He died at the age of 84, in 1967, in Colville, Washington.

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Content Description

Papers of Lon Johnson, Senator, Lieutenant Governor, and Superior Court Judge in Washington State. The papers include correspondence, business records, professional and working papers, legal instruments, and clippings and miscellany. The papers are related to personal affairs; Johnson's political career and public service; his law practice; the Superior Court of Stevens County; the Consolidated Mining and Smelting of Trail, British Columbia; the Dominion Silver-Lead Mining Company; and the International Joint Commission (of Canada and the United States).

The correspondence contains letters to and from a long list of national and state politicians and persons of regional importance, including: Herbert Hoover, Miles Poindexter, Wesley Livsey Jones, Stephen Beasley Linnard Penrose, Clarence Daniel Martin, Roland Hill Hartley, J. Edgar Hoover, Ernest O. Holland, and Fred Thomas Dubois.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions apply. The literary rights in the unpublished writings of Mr. Johnson in these papers have been dedicated to the public, except that these rights are reserved to Mr Johnson's daughters, Doris Johnson Edwards and Evelyn Johnson Hawes, during their lifetimes.

Preferred Citation

[Item description]

William Lon Johnson Papers, 1912-1967 (Cage 195)

Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

The papers of William Lon Johnson, Attorney, Senator, Lieutenant Governor, and Superior Court Judge, were given to the Washington State University Library over the period 1963-1966 by Mr. Johnson. A further set of papers was donated after Mr. Johnson's death in 1967, and was added as an extension at the end of this collection.

Separated Materials

A duplicate copy of the International Joint Commission Trail Smelter Reference, 1928 (Cage 5087) was removed and processed as a seperate collection in 2016.

Bibliography

Described in Lon Johnson : A Register of His Papers, 1912-1966, in the Washington State University Library. Manuscripts-Archives Division, Washington State University Library; 1966.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Finding aid prepared by Earle Connette
2025

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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