Roy P. Johnson (died 1963) was an American reporter-historian.

Biography

Johnson was born in Hendrum, Minnesota.

Railway station agent and telegrapher

He began his career in 1916 as a railway station agent. His ability as a telegrapher ultimately led him to employment as an Associated Press telegrapher assigned to

The Fargo Forum ''The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead'' or more recently ''The Forum'' is an American, English language newspaper. It is the major newspaper for Fargo, North Dakota and the surrounding region, including Moorhead, Minnesota. It is the flagship and name ...

The Fargo Forum

In 1927, he joined the editorial department of The Forum. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, returning to The Forum in 1945 continuing his career as a reporter until his death. He was the chief reporter for The Forum of both the court and city hall in Fargo while at the same time producing a phenomenally interesting rendition of a seemingly bland but unusually rich local history. His contributions were the beginning of a broader literature of the history of this somewhat obscure corner of Northeastern North Dakota and Northwestern Minnesota, and in this regard he was perhaps the most influential and noteworthy figure in the developing historiography of the region.

Historical research

Mr. Johnson is best known for his work as a reporter-historian for The Forum. Between 1941 and 1963 Roy delighted readers of The Forum with his accounts of regional frontier history. This series has been largely reproduced in a compendium published in 1982 called Roy Johnson's Red River Valley: A Selection of Historical Articles First Printed in the Forum from 1941 to 1962. Although he considered himself an "amateur" historian, much of his oeuvre is unique and irreplaceable. His newspaper columns remain the most detailed and incisive chronicle of the history of the

Red River of the North The Red River (french: rivière Rouge or ) is a river in the north-central United States and central Canada. Originating at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota, it fl ...

and its environs. He captured moments in frontier history at a time when oral history and personal reminiscence could still fill in the blank spaces left by official histories and biographies, producing what remains one of the primary sources for

Red River Valley The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North; it is part of both Canada and the United States. Forming the border between Minnesota and North Dakota when these territories were admitted ...

history. In addition to his interest in the

, Mr. Johnson had a consuming interest in the events surrounding the defeat of

General Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

at the

Battle of the Little Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nor ...

. He had been able to even have an interview with the last survivor before he had died. He was a member of a number of historical societies in North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, and Manitoba. In 1958 he was appointed to the advisory council of the Civil War Centennial Commission, and in 1960 he served as a historical adviser for the Dakota Territorial Centennial Commission, plus two committees for the Minnesota centennial observances. His papers are maintained at the

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...

Institute for Regional Studies, in

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo ( /ˈfɑɹɡoʊ/) is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 125,990, making it the most populous city in the state and the 219th-most populous city in ...

.Roy P. Johnson Papers - Index, Institute for Regional Studies, NDSU, Fargo
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Roy P. American male journalists 1963 deaths Year of birth missing