Edwin “Bud” Goulter took great pride in his great-great-grandfather being the first doctor in Pacific County and one of the very early settlers on Shoalwater Bay.

The late Bud Goulter (1927-2022) was a life-long resident of Oysterville and was proud that he could trace his family’s heritage in this area back five generations. First to arrive was his great-great grandfather, Dr. James R. Johnson.

According to Bud, Dr. Johnson was born in England and arrived at the east side of Willapa Bay in the 1840s. James Swan (author of “The Northwest Coast or Three Years Residence in Washington Territory”) however, puts Johnson’s arrival some years after that, in 1854 or ‘55, saying: We had now grown into the dignity of a village, and, at a meeting of the settlers, it was voted to name the town Bruceville (which has since been changed to Bruceport). We received during the year several additions to the settlement, among whom were Doctor James R. Johnson, with his lady and child. This was quite a comfort to us, for the doctor, besides being a jolly, good-natured, and hospitable man, was a gentleman, and quite skillful in his profession, and his arrival made us feel safe on the score of medical advice.

Bud and Swan were in agreement that Johnson was well-experienced, having begun his medical practice near Olympia at an area now called Johnson’s Point. There, he had built a small hospital where he worked for some years before moving to the Shoalwater Bay — perhaps one of the earliest doctors to practice medicine in Olympia as noted by the following Columbian newspaper advertisement, March 26, 1853.:

MEDICAL NOTICE

J.R. JOHNSON, MD About Fifteen miles below Olympia on Puget Sound, has opened for the benefit of the sick and afflicted a HOSPITAL at his “point” where he will be in readiness at all times to attend with counsel and medical assistance all who may make application.

On May 7 of that year the Olympia newspaper The Columbian wrote of Dr. Johnson:

“A lady sent for the doctor in great trouble to say she had a frightful dream and seen her grandmother. ‘What did you eat for supper? Madam.’

‘Quarter of mince pie, Doctor.’

‘Had you ate two, Madam, you would have seen your grandfather, also.’”

Historic records indicate that Johnson was, in fact, a doctor, but the seriousness of his practice was disputed by early historian Ezra Meeker, who claimed that Johnson was more of a bartender than doctor.

On arrival in Shoalwater country, Dr. Johnson and his family filed a Donation Land Claim for Goose Point, the tip of the peninsula upon which Bay Center is located. For the next several years Johnson was the only doctor of medicine on Shoalwater Bay, maintaining his practice at Bruceport. He was also chosen by the citizens of Bruceport as their representative to the Territorial Legislature, a post which he filled to the satisfaction of all according to Mr. Swan.

By 1872, Dr. Johnson and his household had even become the subject of letters among various families in the Shoalwater region. “Oh!” wrote Isaac Smith of North River to Mary Bristow of Eugene City, Oregon “Mother Nippers has got married to an old fellow at Oysterville by the name of Franklin.”

Mary Bristow forwarded Isaac’s letter on to her mother with this additional information: Mrs. Nippers that Isaac spoke of is Mrs. Doctor Johnson.

It is unclear when Dr. Johnson moved across the bay to Oysterville. According to the dates on his gravestone in the Oysterville Cemetery, Johnson died in 1877 at age 73, certainly long since eligible for “retirement” from his medical practice and civic duties. Did he leave Bruceport when Mrs. Nippers married someone else? And why was she called “Mrs. Nippers?” Had she been the one to cut the stitches? Did she serve as both his wife and nurse? Or was she known to take a “nip” now and then from Dr. Johnson’s “medicinal supplies?”

I do so wish I had known more about Dr. Johnson a few years back. I’d have enjoyed Bud’s “take” on some of the stories about his great-great grandfather!