Johnson, Eva Frazer

From Lane Co Oregon

Dr. Eva Johnson was born Eva Cogswell Frazer on July 1, 1889, in Pendleton. Her father, Nicholas, died when she was an infant, and she and her mother, Idaho, returned to the family home in Eugene. Idaho remarried in 1897 to Ira Campbell, co-owner and editor of the Daily Eugene Guard newspaper.

Idaho was a charter member of the Eugene Fortnightly Club (which helped raise funds for Eugene's first library) as well as several other clubs.

The Cogswell home at 252 Pearl Street was just a few blocks from the Shelton-McMurphey home, and as Eva grew up, she dreamed of someday owning the "Castle on the Hill." Eva received her bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Oregon in 1912, and in 1917 she graduated from Rush Medical School in Chicago. In 1919, she married Dr. H. Curtis Johnson, a former classmate, and the couple moved to Madison, Wisconsin, and opened a clinic in which he specialized in pediatrics and she in general medicine. They had four children - two daughters and two sons. The Johnson's practiced medicine in Madison for 25 years, during which Eva became a pioneer in the field of psychiatry. In 1950, Curtis and Eva decided to move to Eugene. Upon her return, Eva learned that the Shelton-McMurphey house was for sale, and she bought the house and property for $30,000. After considerable restoration work, Eva opened offices in the house in 1952, specializing in personal and divorce counseling. In later years, the rented the upstairs rooms to university students. Curtis Johnson died in 1967, and Eva continued to be active in the Presbyterian Church and the Daughters of the American Revolution. Eva lived in the house until she died on August 27, 1986. Her wish was that the downstairs portion of the house be used for small community meetings. Today, the City of Eugene owns and maintains the house with the help of local volunteers.