St. John Church was built in 1928 with the first Mass celebrated by Father Julius Boucher in the summer of that year. Many of those who attended Mass at St. John in those early years were employees of J.P. Morgan & Company. The New York banking & investment firm owned property on Spring Lake, which was used by their employees for summer vacations. The employees who were Catholic, many of them Irish immigrants, originally traveled to St. Luke Church in Rangeley to attend Mass but then contributed to the building of St. John. Some reports say the company also supported the construction of the new chapel, but there is no documentation to confirm that.

To meet the needs of its small but growing year-round population, as well as an increase in visitors to the area, the chapel was renovated and expanded in 1972-1973. An addition was built in the rear of the church to house the sanctuary, baptistery, and chancel, and wings were added for the sacristy, a confessional, and a meeting room.