A. P. Johnston Papers, 1890-1905

Arthur Phillip Johnston was born on the river St. Claire at Courtright, Lampton County, Ontario, Canada, on January 4, 1850. His parents were George B. Johnston and Emily S. Donnelly. His father was born in Ireland in 1819, and came over to Ontario in 1832. His mother was born in Quebec in 1818; she had seven children, and died in 1894. George Johnston was a farmer in Courtright, but he was also a leading man in Ontario politics. He was county assessor in Lampton County, and then served as Justice of the Peace from 1868 to 1892, when he died. A.P. Johnston's oldest brother, George B. Johnston, Jr., was a prominent man in the Montana mining industry. He organized a miners union against Marcus Daly in Washoe, Nevada, and then came to Montana in 1866. He prospected on Cedar Creek in Western Montana. He also served as the principal of a high school in Helena, and later wrote for the Butte Miner.

A.P. Johnston finished high school in Courtright. For the next few years he worked on his father's farm and then on the Grand Trunk Railroad in Ontario. In 1880 he came to Montana by boat and stagecoach, eventually making it to Missoula. From there, he went to Superior, Montana, and acquired some placer mines along Trout Creek. He worked at mining with his brother George for a year. His brother died in 1881 and left all his mining holdings to A.P., who then controlled a sizeable interest in the area of Superior. In 1886 he purchased the Cedar Creek Ferry and Superior Post Office, and set up his shop a mile east of Superior. His store was a combination of a general merchandise store and saloon. He became a popular merchant with travelers and miners as his store was right along the old Mullan Road. Business was good in the 1880s because the local mining industries were booming. He bought land to the west of Superior, and when the town was built he owned half of it. Superior became the county seat of Mineral County, making Mr. Johnston even more prosperous. He further developed the Trout Creek placer mine and discovered gold there. In 1919 he sold it to a syndicate from New York at a handsome profit.

Mr. Johnston was a leading advocate for road improvements on the old Mullan Road from Missoula to Spokane, and the Yellowstone Trail. He was the owner of the Superior Hotel, a two-story structure that was built in 1892. It was here that the first Gideon Bibles were placed. He also served as a director of the Superior State Bank, which was founded in 1914. On September 30, 1900 he married Mary Lydia McCartney, daughter of Thomas and Keziah Cockrell. They had a daughter, Grace A., born June 1, 1905. When Arthur Johnston died in 1930 at the age of eighty years, the Mineral Independent called him the "Father of Superior" in his obituary.