Query: G.N.I.S.

See also: Little Dragoon Mountains.

Nestled on the eastern side of the Little Dragoon Mountains are the tattered, tangled remnants of Johnson, Arizona. Johnson more or less absorbed nearby Russelville. The town was named for a Mr. Johnson who was the general manager of the founding Peabody Company operations, which were established at the site in 1883. The population of Johnson that year has been estimated to be three hundred to five hundred.

The Lake Superior copper owners imported a Tombstone man to survey the town site and to "lay our street seventy feet wide". Ed Benson, also of Tombstone, initiated stage line service. Mrs. Kelly of Benson opened a school, and Johnson flourished as had hundreds of other mining camps.

Johnson was stung by the financial panic of 1907 but began to recover about two years later. The following years were good years, and the population of the camp burgeoned to about one thousand.

But with the drop of copper prices during the Great Depression, Johnson passed out of existence. From the postal register, its post office was closed in late 1929. Limited mining operations were carried on during Would War II and later; but for many years now, Johnson's skeletal remains have been "playthings of the wind." There isn't anything left of Johnson currently and the land is privately owned.

Elevation: 4977ft, 1517m.

Articles that refer to this location:

• 7 Dash Ranch Road, Cochise County, Arizona: at Johnson; 
• Field Notes: 26 Apr 2011; 
• Autecology of Desert Elkweed Frasera albomarginata S. Watson (Syn: Swertia a.) Gentianaceae in the American Southwest: in southeastern Arizona;  26 Apr 2011; 
• U. S. Interstate 10: at Exit 322; 

Literature Referring To This Location:

• Kearney, Thomas H., Robert H. Peebles, et al. 1960. Arizona Flora. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press., 1960.
• Post, Douglas M. 1956. Studies in the Gentianaceae: Frasera and Swertia of North America. Ph.D. dissertation. University of California, Berkeley. 1956..

Species collected at or near this location.

This list summarizes plants collected or observed at this specific, named location. It does not include plants collected or observed at nearby named or unnamed locations. It may be more instructive to use the Area Lists that contain this location.

• TAS – The plant was collected by Tom Schweich.
• Oth – The plant was collected by someone, but not Tom.
• Obs – The plant was observed, but not collected.

Pinaceae

Pinus cembroides Zucc. Mexican Pinyon Pine (TAS)

Anacardiaceae

Rhus microphylla Engelm. ex A. Gray. Little-Leaf Sumac (TAS)

Rhus virens Lindh. ex A. Gray choriophylla (Woot. & Standl.) L.D. Benson. Evergreen Sumac (TAS)

Celastraceae

Mortonia scabrella A. Gray. Rio Grande Saddlebush (TAS)

Fabaceae

Dalea formosa Torrey. Feather Plume (TAS)

Prosopis velutina Wooton. Velvet Mesquite (TAS)

Fagaceae

Quercus turbinella E. Greene. Sonoran Scrub Oak (TAS)

Garryaceae

Garrya wrightii Torr. Wright's Silk-Tassel (TAS)

Gentianaceae

Frasera albomarginata S. Watson. (TAS+Oth+Obs)

Rosaceae

Cercocarpus montanus Raf. Alder-Leaf Mountain Mahogany (TAS)

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M,
N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z

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Date and time this article was prepared:5:36:24 PM, 11/3/2024.