Johnson is a city in Washington County, Arkansas, United States. The community is located in the Ozark Mountains and is surrounded by valleys and natural springs. Early settlers took advantage of these natural features and formed an economy based on mining lime, the Johnson Mill and trout. Although a post office was opened in the community in 1887, Johnson did not incorporate until it required the development of a city government to provide utility services in 1961. Located between Fayetteville and Springdale in the heart of the rapidly growing Northwest Arkansas metropolitan statistical area, Johnson has been experiencing a population and building boom in recent years, as indicated by a 46% growth in population between the 2000 and 2010 censuses.