Edwin C. Johnson papers

Edwin Carl Johnson was born near Scandia in Republic County, Kansas, on January 1, 1884. As a youth he worked as a ranch hand, a section hand for the Burlington Railroad, and a telegrapher. He received his high school diploma at the age of 19. In 1909 he contracted tuberculosis and moved (with his wife, the former Ferne Armitage, whom he married on February 17, 1907) to Colorado hoping to benefit from its climate. From 1910 to 1921 he homesteaded on land near Craig, Colorado, the city which he has ever since regarded as his home.

In 1922 Johnson was selected as a Democratic representative to the Colorado state legislature, where he served four consecutive terms (1923-1931). During this period he also operated the Farmer’s Cooperative Milling Elevator. In 1930 he was elected Colorado’s Lieutenant Governor (1931-1933), and in 1932 he was elected Governor. He filled this post for two terms (1933-1937), after which he served as a U.S. Senator from Colorado from January 3, 1937 to January 3, 1955. During his term in the Senate he was known for his isolationist sentiments. He did not run for re-election in the Senatorial contest of 1954. He was again elected Governor of Colorado, this time for a two year term ending January 1957.

Johnson retired from professional politics in 1957, but continued to serve on various State commissions and committees including the Upper Colorado River Basin Commission and the Colorado Commission on the Aged. Johnson is generally regarded as the most noteworthy politician to come from Colorado in this century. His services to his home state were perhaps most valuable in the areas of internal improvements (especially roads) and water resources.

Johnson died in Denver on May 30, 1970.