Johnson Drilling Co. History

Johnson Drilling Co. was founded in 1945 by Harold Johnson.   Originally a mining operation in San Diego, Johnson moved the company to  Academy Avenue in Sanger and began drilling water wells.  However, he  could never get mining out of his heart, and when Pat Rhodes joined him  in 1970 he realized Rhodes had a greater passion for drilling wells.   Rhodes took over the company in 1975 and ran the business for 20 years  with his wife Darlene moving the location to Kings Canyon Road outside  of Reedley, where it resides today.  Throughout the years the Rhodes'  made their devotion to hard work, their customers and their employees  the elements that make Johnson Drilling Co. a presence in the industry.  
 

Pat and Darlene Rhodes sold the business in 1995 to his three brothers and sister who have worked at Johnson Drilling Co. all  their working lives.  Currently the business is run by brothers Dennis  Rhodes and Kenneth Rhodes.  They have continued to grow the business to  its present size, buying a new drill rig and updating all the service  trucks.
 

Johnson Drilling Co. keeps up with the times and new  techniques.  Many of the employees have worked for the business for over  20 years and customers have become old friends.  While making new  friends we are pioneering new techniques.  Drillers call from across the  country asking for information so they can set up their drill rigs like  ours.  The business consists of drilling hardrock wells in the  foothills, casing driven wells in the valley, including cobblestone  wells in the river bottom, municipal wells in the difficult glacial till  of the Mammoth Mountain area, and municipal, domestic and irrigation  wells from Los Angeles to Sacramento.  Our wide range of drilling skills  sends Johnson Drilling Co. in many interesting directions.