William Decker Johnson

William Decker "W. D." Johnson (November 15, 1869 – June 17, 1936) was an American Bishop and educator. He was the 42nd Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, the founder of the community of Archery, Georgia, and the founder of Johnson Home Industrial College (1912–1936) in Archery.

Early life and family William Decker Johnson was born on November 15, 1869, in the unincorporated community of Glasgow in Thomas County, Georgia, to parents Mattie McCullough and Rev. Andrew Jackson Johnson. Both of his parents were African American and had been enslaved, and both were members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in southern Georgia state. Johnson’s father died in 1883 when he was 14 years old, followed by the death of his youngest brother, and his mother in 1887. The community of Archery is located a few miles from Plains, Georgia, where President Jimmy Carter was born in 1924 and raised. Carter knew of Johnson and his family when he was a child.

In 1920, Johnson was elevated to bishopric in St. Louis, the 42nd Bishop of the AME Church. The William Decker Johnson Hall has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since March 3, 2025; and it has been listed as a Waco Historical Landmark since 2022.

In 1999, a historical marker was erected about Johnson and President Jimmy Carter near Plains, Georgia.

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