Editing St. Peter, Minnesota (section)

===Governors===
St. Peter is known as the home of five [[governor]]s:
* Territorial
** [[Willis Arnold Gorman]] (1853–1857)
* State
** [[Henry Adoniram Swift]] (1863–1864)
** [[Horace Austin]] (1870–1874)
** [[Andrew Ryan McGill]] (1887–1889)
** [[John Albert Johnson]] (1905–1909)

[[File:2009-0805-MN-StPeter-JohnsonHouse.jpg|thumb|right|The [[John A. Johnson House]] is listed on the NRHP.]]

The best-known of these, Johnson, was born in St. Peter to Swedish-born parents on July 28, 1861. Because of family circumstances, he offered to help his mother raise the family. He left school at a young age and held a variety of jobs. In 1887, he was hired as editor of the ''St. Peter Herald'', the local newspaper. In 1899, he was elected to the [[Minnesota Senate|State Senate]], and served until 1903. In 1904, he was elected Minnesota's 16th governor. He was reelected in 1906 and 1908. He was considered as a possible candidate in the 1912 presidential election, but died as the result of an operation for [[Intestine|intestinal]] [[Adhesion (medicine)|adhesions]] in [[Rochester, Minnesota]], on September 21, 1909. Drs. [[William James Mayo]] and [[Charles Horace Mayo]], who came from [[Le Sueur, Minnesota|Le Sueur]] and were friends with Johnson, performed the operation. After lying in state in the [[Minnesota Capitol|Capitol]] rotunda, his body was taken to St. Peter for burial. The funeral, held at Union Presbyterian Church, was St. Peter's largest ever, and he was buried near his parents in Greenhill Cemetery. He was survived by his wife, Elinore "Nora" Preston Johnson.