Andrew J. Johnson arrived in Oklahoma Territory by horseback in 1892 and became part of the generation that helped build western Oklahoma. His legacy still lives on in Cordell, where the A J Johnson’s Addition bears his name.
In 1902, his life was cut short when he was shot and killed at just 35 years of age. He left behind a wife, family, and a future that would never be realized.
Today, his monument stands at Sod School House Cemetery surrounded by iris and nightshade. The flowers have likely returned each spring for more than a century, long after those who planted them have passed away.
Standing beside the grave, it is difficult not to wonder who first planted the iris. Was it his wife? A child? A grieving family member hoping that something beautiful would remain?
More than 120 years later, the answer has been lost to time, but the flowers remain.
Sometimes history survives not only in records and newspapers, but in the living things left behind.
Historical information compiled from cemetery records, local newspaper accounts, Find A Grave memorials, and family research.
Sod School House Cemetery 