Johnson, Ben

Born near Stavanger, Norway, in 1854, Ben Johnson worked on farms and in lumbering before emigrating to North Dakota in 1884 and settling in California five years later. After working in his brother’s vineyard, he preempted 80 acres in Auberry Valley and expanded his holdings to 740 acres, establishing the “B. J.” brand for high-grade livestock. In addition to raising cattle and grain, Johnson spent nine years teaming and freighting lumber through the mountains from Pine Ridge to Fresno, Sanger, and Selma with an eight-mule team.

Johnson later purchased and developed a 60-acre property in the Helm Colony near Clovis, transforming it into a model vineyard with Malaga and Thompson grapes before selling it in 1917. Married in Fresno in 1890 to Norway native Katherine Hansen, with whom he had six children—Sadie, Olga, Jennie, George Theodore Ben, Sigurd, and Ruby—he was an active member of both the California Associated Raisin Company and the California Peach Growers, Inc., earning high regard across Fresno County for his enterprise, public spirit, and industrious citizenship.