Mr. Frank H. Johnson came to St. Lucia in 1911 and bought Ruby Estate in Soufriere. In 1922 he moved to Castries and started business as a Commision Agent.
The products represented included: cooking oil, rice, margarine, flour, salt fish, biscuits and other food items. He also became an insurance agent, representing the Motor Union Insurance Co. and the Barbados Mutual Life Assurance Society.

In 1925, his son James joined the business and opened their first retail outlet called Frank H. Johnson & Son. It was a modest hardware shop on Micoud Street, not far from the present location. Among the first imports were paint and certain workmen's tools which were previously unavailable in St. Lucia. Later, the inventory expanded to include electrical equipment and accessories.

The premises were burnt out in the infamous Castries fire of 1948 and the business moved into a garage at the residence that stood on the current Micoud Street site.
Frank H. Johnson & Son became a limited liability company in November 1948.
Business continued out of the garage until 1951 when a new building was constructed, at the present location on the corner of Micoud and Westhall streets.

The business continued to grow and saw all seven of James and Josephine Johnson's children through school. All of the children also worked in the store, some for longer periods than others. In May of 1974, the company name was changed to Johnsons Hardware Limited. It was felt that this change would more closely associate the company with the product line they offered. In 1978 Mr. Richard Johnson, son of James and Josephine Johnson became Managing Director of the company and it has continued to prosper under his care.

Johnsons has weathered the times - The rooftop of the building was used by the St. Lucia Fire Brigade as the most strategic point to fight the M&C fires of June 1960 and 1973 with only small losses to Johnsons. The Castries riots of 1979 saw heavy losses and damages to the business.
In 1992, the sales and display area was doubled and fully air-conditioned and a new shop front put in.

In October 1997 construction of the "Johnsons Marine Centre" as the Rodney Bay Marina branch of Johnsons Hardware is known, was completed. This branch, run by Mr. Norman Johnson, son of Richard Johnson, offers all of the products of its peer in Castries but adds special emphasis to its Marine and Boating supply product lines. The close proximity of the Rodney Bay Marina yacht haven and the extensive inventory makes it the first choice among yachtsmen.

Johnsons Hardware has served Saint Lucia for over 70 years and looks forward to being of service to the community for many more generations.