Thaddeus Edgar Johnson
Vernon, Wilbarger County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Lawyer and World War I veteran, T. Edgar Johnson (1889-1972), gathered resources from family and friends to open Johnson-Davis Ford Company in Vernon in 1930 at this location. The business thrived during the Great Depression, becoming a leading transportation business in the region for thirty years. T. Edgar, his wife, Robbie Laurine (Davis), and their daughter moved here from Breckenridge, where he had been a successful attorney. Johnson served the community as a board member of the Pease River Flood Control District. He was also a longtime board member of the Vernon Chamber of Commerce and its president in 1937, helping the local economy to prosper. (2015)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
A lawyer and World War I veteran, T. Edgar Johnson relocated his family from Breckenridge to Vernon and, in 1930, opened the Johnson-Davis Ford Company at this spot. In an era when the automobile was reshaping rural Texas, the dealership not only survived the Great Depression but became a leading regional transportation business for three decades. Johnson also poured himself into civic life, serving on the Pease River Flood Control District and leading the Vernon Chamber of Commerce as its 1937 president.
Why it matters
The marker captures how the spread of the automobile and locally rooted entrepreneurship helped small American towns weather the Depression and knit together the wider region.
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Related people
- · T. Edgar Johnson
- · Robbie Laurine Davis Johnson
Related events
- · Great Depression
- · World War I
Themes & tags
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