J. Carroll Johnson Explained

J. Carroll Johnson should not be confused with Carroll Johnson.

J. Carroll Johnson (November 9, 1882 – May 4, 1967) was an architect in South Carolina. He was the first resident architect at University of South Carolina and supervised campus expansion.^[1] He designed numerous residences in Columbia's suburbs during the roaring 1920s. His work also includes the Lexington County Courthouse which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

He was born in Kristianstad, Sweden.^[1] He is buried at Elmwood Cemetery.^[1]

The Library of Congress has photographs of some of his buildings including from the Historic American Buildings Survey (catalogued along with musical documents from minstrel performer Carroll Johnson).^[2]

Work

• State Industrial School for Girls (1918)
• First Presbyterian Church of Kershaw, South Carolina (1920),
• Three schools in Lancaster, South Carolina (1922)
• Buildings on the University of South Carolina campus including:
  • Sloan College (1927)
  • South Caroliniana Library wing additions (1927–1928)
  • Melton Observatory (1928)
  • Wardlaw College (1930–1931)
  • Sims Dormitory (1939)
  • Petigru College (1949) with Simons & Lapham of Charleston
  • LeConte College (1952)
  • Osborne Administration Building (1951 – 1952)
  • President’s House (1952), conversion and renovation^[1]
• Lexington County Courthouse (1939 – 1940) with Jesse W. Wessinger in Lexington, South Carolina^[3]
• First Baptist Church of West Columbia (1942)^[1]

Residential buildings

• Benjamin F. Taylor House (1910 – 1912)
• Boyne-Pressley-Spigner House (1915)
• Two houses for Dr. Robert E. Seibels in Columbia (1927 and 1933)
• John T. Stevens House in Kershaw (1918)
• James L. Coker, Jr. house (1923 – 1924)
• J. B. Gilbert house (1929)^[1]
• 102 South Driftwood Drive in Columbia^[4]

Further reading

• “Dialogue With The Past’–J. Carroll Johnson, Architect, and the University of South Carolina, 1912–1956” Master’s thesis by Andrew Watson Chandler, University of South Carolina (1993)^[5]
• “John C. Johnson, 84, Architect, Dies” Columbia State, May 5, 1967, page A7
• The South Carolina Architects, 1885–1935: A Biographical Directory by John E. Wells and Robert E. Dalton, New South Architectural Press, Richmond, Virginia (1992)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Johnson, John Carroll.
2. Web site: 7 J carroll johnson Images: Library Of Congress Public Domain Search. Library Of Congress.
3. Web site: Lexington County Courthouse. LandmarkHunter.com.
4. Web site: 102 Southwood Drive - Hollywood-Rose Hill | Historic Columbia. www.historiccolumbia.org.
5. Book: Chandler, Andrew Watson. Dialogue with the past: J. Carroll Johnson, architect, and the University of South Carolina, 1912-1956. October 16, 1993. 29925752 . Open WorldCat.