Johnston Locksmith was created in 1991 by F L Johnston. It began as a full line security company, selling and installing alarm systems as well as locks and locksmith services. Johnston quickly concluded that the locksmith service was the direction he wanted to take the business. He provided north Alabama a full line locksmith service until 2006 when AAA Alabama provided him an opportunity to go totally automotive. He dropped the residential and commercial services and expanded the automotive service to include emergency roadside services for AAA Alabama.

Early in 2010, AAA Alabama was bought by AAA California. The California organization brought their own service providers into Alabama resulting in Johnston Locksmith loosing a major portion of their business. F L Johnston, nearing retirement age, made the decision to scale back and down size the company rather than going to the expanse of expanding back into a full line service. He laid off several employees and moved the shop into a smaller location. However, he still provides a quality service at a reasonable price.