History

The picturesque community of St. John is stop number 26 on the Wetlands and Wildlife National Scenic Byway tour. Visitor highlights include the unique structure of the Stafford County courthouse, Church on the hill, WPA projects, and St. John Science Museum, Luculle Hall Museum and Ida Long Goodman Memorial Library to name a few.

The city was established in 1875, originally known as Zion Valley settled by members of the Church of Jesus Christ, a.k.a Later Day Saints or Mormons.

The first building in what would later become St. John was a small white church on a hill, called the Mormon Temple. An elder in the church blessed St. John and said that as long as a member of this faith lived there, the town would never be destroyed by a cyclone.

In 1879, the St. John Town company platted the town, which was named after then Governor John Pierce St. John. Some at the time thought it was an attempt to influence their bid for the county seat designation.

The process for county seat went through several elections with none of the contenders receiving a majority. During a run-off election a cyclone, (tornado) hit the city of Stafford the main  challenger for the county seat. The ballot box was destroyed and ballots were scattered. A third election named St. John the winner, but the issue remained “unsettled” until the first county courthouse was constructed in 1886.

St. John is one of the southern gateways to Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, a wetland refuge of significant importance to a variety of migrating waterfowl. QNWR is the winter home for several Bald and Golden eagles. It offers a wide range of opportunities for birdwatchers, hunters, fisherman and nature lovers of all ages. It is also the southern starting point for the Wetlands and Wildlife National Scenic Byway that passes through QNWR and Cheyenne Bottoms in Barton County.