The back of the WILLIAM JOHNSON house. The main house is on the right and the back was the kitchen and servants living quarters.

Johnson's book "The Barber From Natchez" represents the most complete account of the life of a free African-American in the pre-Civil War South.

Johnson was a member of the free African-American aristocracy, whose members owned property and operated business in Natchez. Johnson served as contractor in the construction of his 1841 brick townhouse. Johnson was murdered in 1851 over a land dispute. Today, the house is owned by the National Park Service and interpreted as part of the Natchez National Historical Park.