“J” is for Johnston, Oiln DeWitt Talmadge (1896-1995). Governor, U.S. senator. A native of Honea Path, Johnston was raised in an upcountry mill village. He graduated from Wofford and USC’s law school. He served several terms in the S.C. House of Representatives. Johnston won the governorship in 1934, campaigning as a New Dealer. In 1942 he was again elected governor. In 1944 he won election to the U.S. Senate where he served until his death. In the Senate in 1951, he became chair of the patronage-rich Post Office and Civil Service Committee iand used his position to see that small towns across the state got new post offices. Elected twice to the governor’s office and four times to the U.S. Senate, Olin DeWitt Talmadge Johnston was one of the most durable figures in twentieth-century South Carolina politics.
“J” is for Johnston, Oiln DeWitt Talmadge (1896-1995)
