Repository:

Kent State University Libraries. Special Collections and Archives.

Title:

J. T. Johnson papers

Inclusive Date(s):

1865-1950

Bulk Date(s):

1880-1930

Author:

Finding aid prepared by Bonnie Mitchell, November 1977

Creation:

Finding aid encoded by Edith Serkownek using the OhioLINK EAD Application in 2010

Description Rules:

Finding aid prepared using DACS

Origination:

Johnson, J. T. (John Thomas), 1869-1956

Extent:

3.5 cubic feet (6 boxes = 2 record storage boxes, 2 document cases and 2 flat boxes)

Physical Location:

11th Floor

Finding Aid Identifier:

OhKeUSC0104

Abstract:

The J. T. Johnson papers, dating from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century, document both the personal and academic life of John Thomas Johnson, the first dean of Kent State Normal School and the head of the Agriculture Department. Johnson was an avid photographer and the collection includes photographs, as well as newspaper clippings and miscellaneous personal papers. Johnson's papers document the early history of Kent State University.

Revision(s):

February 2010 - Revised by Edith Serkownek
October 2013 - Revised by by Edith Serkownek
December 2023 - Revised by Cara Gilgenbach

Language(s):

The records are in English.

Biography of J. T. Johnson

John Thomas Johnson was born in Belleville, Illinois in 1869. Johnson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Illinois in 1906 and began graduate work in agricultural teacher training at the same institution. Johnson served as a teacher and administrator at Western Illinois State Normal School until 1912, when he was hired as the first Dean of Faculty and the Head of the Agriculture Department of the soon-to-open Kent State Normal School.

Johnson helped to hire additional faculty and taught agriculture extension classes throughout the area until Kent campus facilities were built. Responsibility for overseeing the official opening of Kent State Normal School in the summer of 1913 fell to Johnson while Kent's President John McGilvrey was bed-ridden with typhoid fever. Johnson was a teacher and administrator at Kent from 1912 to 1917, at which time he left to teach at the Cleveland School of Education and later, Bowling Green State Normal College. Johnson returned to Kent in 1925 as Superintendent of the College Farm and Head of the Agriculture Department. Johnson continued to serve as the department head until 1939 when the department was eliminated. He also briefly served as professor of photography and official University Photographer between 1939- circa 1941 before retiring. Johnson died in 1956.

An obituary noted that Johnson's photographs had appeared in National Geographic and that he was a pioneer in color photography. Johnson Hall, a KSU student residence hall completed in 1956, is named in his honor.

Scope and Content

The J. T. Johnson papers, dating from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century, document both the personal and academic life of John Thomas Johnson, the first Dean of Kent State Normal School, as well as Head of the Agriculture Department. Johnson was a skilled amateur photographer, and photographs form the bulk of this collection. The collection includes family photographs, early Kent Normal School campus scenes and buildings (1912 to circa 1930), and photographic studies of plant, insect and bird life. The collection also includes newspaper clippings, programs and other ephemera, much of it related to the early history of Kent State University, including commencement programs, programs for entertainments held on campus, and University School (the working campus teacher training school) publications.

Statement of Arrangement

The J. T. Johnson papers are divided into the following series:

• Series 1: Photographs
• Subseries 1A: Photographs: Personal and Family
• Subseries 1B: Photographs: Kent State Normal School and Kent-related
• Subseries 1C: Photographs: Agricultural Studies
• Subseries 1D: Photographs: Nature Studies
• Subseries 1E: Photographs: Oversized
• Series 2: Ephemera: Kent State Normal School-related and Personal
• Series 3: Newspapers Clippings and Publications
• Subseries 3A: Newspapers Clippings and Publications: Kent State
• Subseries 3B: Newspapers Clippings and Publications: Local Newspapers

Related Material

Further information concerning J. T. Johnson's memories of Kent State University's early history can be found in the Kent State University Oral History Project collection.

Processing Information

Identification of the majority of photographs was supplied by the processor.

Restrictions on Access

Original newspaper clippings in this collection are very fragile, photocopies for research use have been provided.

Preferred Citation

J. T. Johnson papers. Kent State University Libraries. Special Collections and Archives.

Acquisition Information

The J. T. Johnson papers were donated to KSU in 1977 by Dennis Eberhardt who had been given the collection by Nel Wampler, daughter-in-law of J. T. Johnson. Small additions were made to this collection by George Urban in 1980 and Tom Olson in 1981.

Subject Headings

The following subjects are found in this collection:

Subjects:

• Nature--Photographs
• Agriculture--Photographs
• Families--Photographs

Persons:

• Johnson, J. T. (John Thomas), 1869-1956--Archives
• Johnson, J. T. (John Thomas), 1869-1956--Family--Photographs

Organizations/Corporations:

• Kent State Normal School--Photographs
• Kent State Normal College--Photographs
• Kent State University--Photographs
• Kent State Normal School
• Kent State Normal College. Dept. of Agriculture
• Kent State University--History
• Kent State Normal Training School

Functions:

• Photography
• Nature photography
• Universities and colleges--Administration

Occupations:

• College administrators
• Photographers
• High school students

Material Types:

• Photographs
• Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
• Student newspapers and periodicals

Detailed Description of The Collection