When this photo of the Johnson Mill was taken in 1898, the mill was already one of the oldest businesses in Washington County. The first Johnson Mill was built about 1835 by Tennessee native Jake Q. Johnson. That mill was burned to the ground during the Civil War, with the building pictured here constructed at the war’s close in 1865. Ben F. Johnson ran the mill in the late 1800s, and the community of Johnson bears his name. The Johnson family continued to operate the mill into the 1980s. In 1991, the property was sold to Fayetteville architect James Lambeth, who transformed the mill site into today’s Inn at the Mill and the adjoining James at the Mill Restaurant.

Washington County Historical Society Collection/Frank Gorsuch, photographer (P-1019)