[2] Johnson County is named for Colonel Middleton Tate Johnson Sr., a Texas Ranger, politician and soldier in the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War (fighting for the Confederate States Army).

The first settler of Johnson County was Henry Briden, who built a log cabin on the Nolan River in 1849.

[4] His log cabin still exists, and can be seen along State Highway 174 in Rio Vista, Texas.

The first county seat was Wardville, now located under the waters of Lake Pat Cleburne.

[citation needed] Johnson County is defined by the Texas Education Code as being in the Hill College service area.

Johnson County is part of the Dallas/Fort Worth television media market in north-central Texas.

Local news media outlets are: KDFW-TV, KXAS-TV, WFAA-TV, KTVT-TV, KERA-TV, KTXA-TV, KDFI-TV, KDAF-TV, KFWD-TV, and KDTX-TV.