Lon Johnson contributed to the region in many capacities which
included teaching, county clerk, local attorney, state senator,
Lt. Governor and local judge. The grist mill stones displayed at the
courthouse were donated by Judge & Mrs. Johnson.
Number 21 in the Colville Tour Booklet
Lon Johnson was a Republican politician and served as the ninth Lieutenant Governor of Washington under Roland H. Hartley from January 12, 1925 to January 14, 1929. He was from the Ozarks in Missouri and taught school at Chewelah and Valley while studying law. Admitted to the bar in 1912, he practiced in Colville until elected to the Washington State Senate in 1918, in which capacity he served until 1924. He later served as superior court judge for Stevens and Pend Oreille counties from 1938 until 1957. Johnson was the one who first investigated the feasibility of creating a Columbia River irrigation project, which eventually became Grand Coulee Dam.
All Local Historic Plaque Recipients are entered in the Colville Heritage Register and receive one of these burnished copper plaques bearing the date of construction of the building. If you're wondering why the plaques are copper, and not the traditional bronze, it is because it was primarily copper, along with lesser amounts of associated metals, such as silver and gold, which created the impetus for settlement of this area.