Finding aid updated in November 2024 by Juliana Clark
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John Wesley Johnson (1836-1898) was an early Oregon settler. He was born in Westport, Kansas City, MO. In 1950 his family made the 2,000-mile journey along the Oregon Trail. Johnson was in charge of driving one of the oxen-pulled wagons at the age of 14. Along the way he lost his mother and sister to cholera, and was one of 10 remaining children left to the care of his father. At the end of the journey, he and his family arrived in Marysville, OR which is present-day Corvallis [1].
When Johnosn decided to pursue higher education, he sailed to Connecticut and attended Yale University where he earned a law degree. During his time at Yale, the Civil War broke out [2].
When he returned to Oregon in 1862, Johnson began working in education. From 1862-1864 he worked at the denominational school, which became the State Agricultural College, and is now Oregon State University's College of Agricultural Sciences. From 1864-1868 he worked at the Baptist College at McMinnville (now Linfield College) and became its president. From 1868-1869 he was the head of one of the grammar schools in Portland. From 1869-1876 he was an instructor at Portland High School [3].
Finally, in 1876 he became the first President of the University of Oregon. The initial plan, however, was to elect someone else. On April 3, 1876, the Board of Regents met and, "Elected a faculty consisting of T.M. Gatch as president, Thomas Condon, J.W. Johnson, B.L. Arnold, and Mary Spiller. However, the acceptance of the [University's] building by the state still hung fire, owing to the debts. . . The state board of land commissioners accepted the building on July 26, 1876, reporting that it was admirably adapted for its purposes. The regents met almost immediately. . . and elected a second faculty. At this election John W. Johnson became president" [4]. The faculty being as small as it was, "Neither [Professor Straub] nor President Johnson had clerical assistance; records were few and were handled by the professors" [5]. This may account for why this portion of the Office of the President collection is small. During his time as president, Johnson also served as a professor of Latin. He resigned on, "March 30, 1893, retaining, however, his position as professor of Latin" [6].
Sources
1-3. Veazie, Arthur L. Arthur L. Veazie Address, Life and Work of John Wesley Johnson, First President of the University of Oregon, 1918.
4. Sheldon, Henry Davidson. History of University of Oregon. Portland, Or: Binfords and Mort, 1940, 41.
5. Sheldon, Henry Davidson. History of University of Oregon. Portland, Or: Binfords and Mort, 1940, 68.
6. Sheldon, Henry Davidson. History of University of Oregon. Portland, Or: Binfords and Mort, 1940, 81.
The Office of the President: John Wesley Johnson collection documents the inaugural role of the President at the University of Oregon. Johnson was the University's first President, and his tenure lasted for 17 years from 1876-1893. During his Presidency and for a few years after his presidency, he was also a professor of Latin at the UO, and the collection reflects this as well.
The collection mostly contains presidential reports, department reports, and faculty reports from each school year starting in 1878. However, the collection also contains various other records that demonstrate the business conducted by the universty, its staff, its contractors, and also reflects student business in the form of County Clerk records, recommendation letters from faculty for degrees, and alumni registers. The collection is made up entirely of paper documents.