The Johnson Law Office is one of three early nineteenth-century buildings that stood on Madison Street. The Honorable Richard Johnson (1847-1921) used this building during Clinton’s heyday in the 1830s. James Smith, Ellen Craft’s father, would have conducted business here as well, and it is possible that Ellen came and went from this building on errands or with the white women of the family. The son of Francis Solomon (1809-1878) and Lucia Griswold Johnson (1816-1859). Judge Johnson presided over the Jones County Court for one decade (1877-87). He then served as a one-term Georgia state representative (1888-89) and as a state senator (1890-91). The office resided on property originally owned by Dr. Thomas Hamilton (1790-1859), who sold the house to Edward Taylor (?-?) for $400 on December 28, 1831. The house passed from Taylor to General William Flewellen (?-?), who paid over five times more, $2,225 for it, in February 1835. Mary Thweatt Flewellen (?-?), his widow; Abner H. Flewellen (?-?), his brother; Bennet Bell (?-?); and Francis Solomon Johnson (1809-1878), the father of Judge Johnson, were subsequent owners. The law office received a historical marker on April 29, 2016. It has subsequently been moved to a new location in Clinton, where it is being repurposed for community and educational use. Sources The History of Jones County by Carolyn White Williams The Old Clinton Historical Society http://www.oldclinton.org/more-about-clinton/current-projects-3/richard-johnson-law-office/ Type: Story
