Beula Johnson

Policewoman Beula Johnson was credited for investigating the notorious Hex House case, in which a woman held two younger women as virtual slaves.

Johnson was born as Beula Addison on the 21st of April 1892 in Kansas. She married John Johnson in 1919 and they moved to Jackson, Missouri. Her son John was born on the 15th of February 1920.

She graduated from the University of Kansas before she and her family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1926. She got a job as a French teacher at Roosevelt Junior High School and then later got a job as a social worker.

In 1936 the Tulsa Police Commissioner O.W. Hoop was persuaded by the League of Women Voters that a woman should be hired to handle women prisoners and juveniles.

Beula Johnson was interviewed by a committee of club women and she passed a written exam before being selected from the thirteen applicants. She became the first policewoman hired on at the Tulsa Police Department.

She left the TPD in 1959 and went to work for the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office. She retired in 1963 after having served 27 years in law enforcement.

She died at the age of 88 on June 20, 1980.

Note to readers: We have made our best effort to provide the most accurate information about the history of the Hex House of Tulsa. We collected newspaper articles, researched genealogy, and historical documents like marriage licenses, census information, city directories, and draft cards. However, there may be errors in the information provided. Nevertheless, the arc of the story is true and documented history even if some details may be incorrect.