William Whipple Johnson was born on October 11, 1843 in Ionia, Michigan. He lost almost everything in the Panic of 1873 and sought by more than 100 creditors, he and his brother Harvey decided to come to Texas. They began the first serious mining operations in the Strawn/Thurber area in 1886.

Robert Spoede, “W.W. Johnson and the Beginnings of Coal Mining in the Strawn/Thurber Vicinity, 1880-1888.” West Texas Historical Association Yearbook, 44 (October, 1968, 43-59.