Samuel Spencer Johnson (September 1, 1911 – June 20, 1984) was an American businessman, legislator, and philanthropist in the state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. He owned saw mills and large tracts of timber land near the

Metolius River The Metolius River (pronounced ''muh TOLL ee us'') is a tributary of the Deschutes River (through Lake Billy Chinook) in Central Oregon, United States, near the city of Sisters. The river flows north from springs near Black Butte, then turns sha ...

, Black Butte, and

Sisters, Oregon Sisters is a city in Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is part of the Bend, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,038 at the 2010 census. History The community takes its name from the nearby Three Sisters mount ...

. He served seven terms in the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 65,000. The House meets in the west wing of the ...

; and along with his wife, founded the Samuel S. Johnson Foundation. He also served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Redmond, Oregon Redmond is a city in Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. Incorporated on July 6, 1910, the city is on the eastern side of Oregon's Cascade Range, in the High Desert in Central Oregon. From Redmond there is access to recreational opportunit ...

, from 1979 to 1984.

Early life

Johnson was born on September 1, 1911, in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

. He was named after his grandfather, a sawmill owner from

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. His father, Samuel Orie Johnson was a timber broker in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Around 1903, his father moved to

Central Oregon Central Oregon is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Oregon and is traditionally considered to be made up of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook counties. Other definitions include larger areas, often encompassing areas to the north towards the ...

and began acquiring timber land in the area. His father bought what is now

Black Butte Ranch Black Butte Ranch is a census-designated place (CDP) and unincorporated private resort community in Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is located in the Cascade Range, northwest of Sisters. The population was 366 at the 2010 census. ...

, the Indian Ford area near Sisters, most of Green Ridge north of Black Butte, and the Wurzweiller Ranch, which included Camp Sherman and the headwaters of the Metolius River.Interview with Elizabeth H. Johnson
(transcribed from tape by Maret Pajutee), Sisters Watershed History Fest, Sisters Country Historical Society, 2006. After graduating from the

University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

's School of Forestry in 1934, Johnson returned to Central Oregon to act as his father's agent, buying and selling timber and land. During that time, Johnson lived in the old Sisters Hotel. In 1935, his father sold the that included the Metolius headwaters to him for one dollar. In the early 1930s, the Johnsons opened a saw mill in Sisters in partnership with Bert Peterson, the first of six Central Oregon mills the Johnson family owned over the years.''History of Deschutes County in Oregon'', Deschutes County Historical Society, Bend, Oregon: 1985, pp. 300-2. During World War II, Johnson served in the Army Corps of Engineers. As an Army Captain, Johnson ran the Corps of Engineers' procurement office in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, that bought lumber and wood products from around Oregon and shipped them from the

Port of Astoria A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

engineer and

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

Seabee United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Force (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Depending upon ...

units in the Pacific. While serving in Portland, Captain Johnson met his future wife Elizabeth (known as Becky). She was a Navy recruiter for the

Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service Waves most often refers to: *Waves, oscillations accompanied by a transfer of energy that travel through space or mass. *Wind waves, surface waves that occur on the free surface of bodies of water. Waves may also refer to: Music * Waves (band ...

(commonly known as

WAVES Waves most often refers to: *Waves, oscillations accompanied by a transfer of energy that travel through space or mass. * Wind waves, surface waves that occur on the free surface of bodies of water. Waves may also refer to: Music * Waves (ban ...

). They married in 1944."Former Faculty, Staff, Friends of College Mourned"
, Chronicle, Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon, Summer 2007.

Businessman

After the war, the Johnsons opened a new saw mill in

. The mill had direct access to the railroad so the operation could be greatly expanded. In 1948, Johnson bought his father's Oregon timber holdings and mills, and opened his own office in Sisters. Johnson was successful at negotiating timber sale contracts with the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

. As a result, his operations continued uninterrupted while many of Central Oregon's saw mills were closing. In 1967, Johnson sold his Jefferson Plywood Company mill at Warm Springs to the Warm Springs tribal council for $1.34 million and provided additional plywood and veneer-making equipment to help the tribe establish Warm Springs Forest Products Industries. This new tribal business improved the economic conditions on the Warm Springs Reservation.

Public service

In 1965, Johnson was elected to a seat in the Oregon House of Representatives, and was re-elected six more times, serving continuously through the 1977 legislative session. He represented

Crook Crook is another name for criminal. Crook or Crooks may also refer to: Places * Crook, County Durham, England, a town * Crook, Cumbria, England, village and civil parish * Crook Hill, Derbyshire, England * Crook, Colorado, United States, a ...

, Deschutes and

Jefferson Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...

counties from 1965 to 1972, and after re-districting in 1973, he represented Deschutes and

Klamath Klamath may refer to: Ethnic groups *Klamath people, a Native American people of California and Oregon **Klamath Tribes, a federally recognized group of tribes in Oregon *Klamath language, spoken by the Klamath people Places in the United States * ...

counties. While he was a conservative

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, he was also a well known champion of progressive government and a mentor to legislators of both parties."Showcasing the Faces of Oregon Leadership – Sam Johnson"
, Earl Blumenauer for Oregon web-site, 2007. He retired from the legislature undefeated in 1978, and ran for

of Redmond. He was elected for a two-year term in 1979, and was re-elected in 1981 and 1983,Clark, Keith, ''Redmond Where the Desert Blooms'', Oregon Historical Society Press, Redmond, Oregon: 1985. serving in that position until his death in June 1984.

Legacy

Johnson died in 1984 from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

, in Newport, Rhode Island, where he had been attending a seminar.Church, Foster (June 21, 1984). "Former legislative leader dies". ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'', p. B1. He and his wife, Becky, established the Samuel S. Johnson Foundation in 1948. Over the years, the Johnson charitable foundation funded numerous projects that fostered respect for nature, history and education. After Sam Johnson's death, his wife continued as the president of the foundation until her death in January 2007. Among the many institutions that have benefited from the foundation are the

High Desert Museum The High Desert Museum is located near Bend, Oregon, United States. Opened in 1982, it brings regional wildlife, culture, art and natural resources together to promote an understanding of natural and cultural heritage of North America's high ...

Oregon Historical Society The Oregon Historical Society (OHS) is an organization that encourages and promotes the study and understanding of the history of the Oregon Country, within the broader context of U.S. history. Incorporated in 1898, the Society collects, preser ...

, the

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI, ) is a science and technology museum in Portland, Oregon, United States. It contains three auditoriums, including a large-screen theatre, planetarium, and exhibition halls with a variety of hands ...

, and

Lewis and Clark College Lewis & Clark College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Originally chartered in 1867 as the Albany Collegiate Institute in Albany, Oregon, the college was relocated to Portland in 1938 and in 1942 adopted the name Lewis & Cl ...

. Perhaps Sam Johnson's greatest legacy was preserving the headwaters of the Metolius River, also known as

Metolius Springs Metolius Springs are located just north of Black Butte near the small unincorporated town of Camp Sherman in central Oregon, United States. The springs are the source of the Metolius River, which flows through the Deschutes National Forest emp ...

. The headwaters are just north of Black Butte, and are unusual because the Metolius River emerges from an underground volcanic lava tubes as a full flowing river. For many years, the Johnsons allowed public access to the scenic headwaters viewing area. The Johnsons gave the Metolius Springs viewing site to the United States Forest Service in 1965. Today, the area is managed as a Forest Service park.

Personal

The Johnsons had two daughters, Betsy and Patti.Nkrumah, Wade (January 3, 2007). "Elizabeth Johnson, foundation president, dies". ''

'', p. B6.

Betsy Johnson Elizabeth Katharine Johnson (born January 12, 1951) is an American aviator, entrepreneur, and politician who served in the Oregon House of Representatives from the 1st and 31st House districts from 2001 to 2005, and in the Oregon Senate from ...

has served in the

and the

Oregon State Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the state Sena ...

- as a Democrat representing Columbia County.Stern, Henry (January 20, 2005). "Scappoose legislator fills Senate seat". ''

'', p. B8.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Sam 1911 births 1984 deaths Politicians from Berkeley, California Republican Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Mayors of places in Oregon People from Deschutes County, Oregon People from Redmond, Oregon Philanthropists from Oregon 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American philanthropists