Johnson, Carl Emil

Born in Dalarna, Sweden, in 1879, Carl Emil Johnson learned the trades of electrician, carpenter, and blacksmith before emigrating to the United States in 1901. After spending a year in South Dakota, he arrived in Fresno in 1902 and purchased twenty acres in the Vinland Colony. He funded the development of his property by working in mining and electrical pursuits, as well as working extensively as a carpenter in San Francisco and Mariposa County.

Settling permanently on his Vinland Colony ranch along Shaw Avenue around 1908, Johnson constructed a residence and improved the land with plantings of alfalfa, apricots, and Muir and clingstone peaches. In addition to managing his acreage and operating a commercial orchard and vineyard spraying business, Johnson became a stockholder in both the California Peach Growers, Inc., and the California Associated Raisin Company. A member of the Swedish Lutheran Church, he earned widespread respect as an industrious and enterprising pioneer of Fresno County.