Archives West Finding Aid

The personal and professional papers of Edward C. Johnson, Dean of the State College of Washington's College of Agriculture, from 1919-1945, and Director of the Washington Agricultural Experiment Station, from 1919-1948. The papers consist of correspondence, speeches, manuscripts, notes, reports, publications, clippings, and photographs of an agricultural administrator specializing in extension services. Included is a lengthy diary recounting extensive travels in Western Europe and the Soviet Union during 1937; and the report of the 1947 United States Department of Agriculture Mission to Colombia, of which Johnson was head.

The first series contains reports and correspondence dating from Johnson's employment at Kansas State University and with the USDA in Washington, D.C.

Series two is composed primarily of materials relating to Johnson's overseas travels while employed at the State College of Washington. This material includes correspondence, speeches, notes, reports, maps, clippings, photographs and photograph lists, glass slides, and motion pictures. Most of the approximately 500 photographs were taken on Johnson's tour of farms and agricultural experiment stations in Colombia in 1947, although some are of European agriculture dating from his extensive travels in 1937. The four short rolls of motion picture film were also taken on Johnson's European trip. Scenes of American agriculture from the period ca. 1907-1920 are depicted on the more than 40 glass slides in the collection, some taken in the Pullman vicinity. Mementos from Johnson's childhood and travels are also included in this series.

The third, and final, series contains Johnson's publications. Manuscripts of some of his writings are included, among them being: Emphasis on Conservation, Other Inland Empires, and Another Valley.