Henry C. Johnson House

516 S. Clayton St.

This 1880’s Italianate home first showed up in the 1879-1880 City Directory as belonging to Henry C. Johnson.  The home remained in the same family until 1974 and has changed owners only four times. 

Henry C. Johnson was a Civil War veteran who fought in the 100 Day Army for the Union. Upon returning from the Civil War he worked as a traveling salesman and also in his father’s grain mill.  He married his wife (Freedom Amsbury) and they gave birth to seven children but only five of them survived to adulthood. His youngest daughter (Eugenia) was born right in the home.

In 1898 Henry and Freedom were divorced.  Freedom struggled financially and the home went into foreclosure, causing it to be auctioned off outside of the courthouse to the highest cash bidder.  The oldest daughter bought the home for $2,400.  

Today the home still contains some of the charm that was shared by the original owners.  It has several arched doorways, the original hardwood floors (done on a diagonal with thin and thick strips of wood), and the entryway has the same winding staircase with the wallpaper put in by the Johnson family.  The front porch lights are either gas or electric and there are still two gas fixtures that were used to light the home.  

The house was built prior to water being in the home so the kitchen and bathrooms were all added on.  There was a privy that could be accessed by walking out the backdoor and going towards the back of the lot.  The current owners dug up the privy site and found a small piece of the Johnson’s dishes, a men’s pipe, part of a glass bottle, and what appears to be a wedding ring that was taken to a jeweler and determined to be made of real gold and diamonds.

At one point the owners of the home enjoyed having some of the newest technology.  The home had air conditioning in 1936, the same year that it was featured at the World’s Fair.  There were four electrical wires coming into the home to help support the large unit that used refrigerator technology to cool the home.  The home also has a refrigerator that was built into the basement and remains there until this day, despite not being used since at least 1976.

The current owners researched the home and found out that Eugenia Johnson (affectionately known as Ms. Jean) had over 80 prize rose bushes in the back yard.  In an article published by the Pantagraph she gave her tips to raising beautiful flowers and mentioned raising Clematis and a Mr. Lincoln rose.  If you look at the raised flower beds in the backyard you may notice a dress form with a Clematis and a budding rose on the Mr. Lincoln rosebush that have returned to the yard to honor the original owners.