History of St John

History of St John

History of St John, Kansas

John Pierce St John was the governor of Kansas when the Bickertonite Mormon’s settled in what they named Zion Valley, the year was 1879.

“There has been from the beginning of Stafford County, a sense that this is a protected area, that God directed the early settlement. The area was designated as a State of Zion, first called Zion Valley by the inspiration of God. It carried with it a blessing from Heaven.”

St John was founded by the St John Town Company with a capital stock of $2,000 divided into 400 shares of $5.00 each. Several different locations in the center of Stafford County, that were suitable for a town site, were examined. The first choice was a homestead that was 1 ½ miles north of the present location, but its owner, John Westwood, would not sell his claim. The second choice was Frederick Hawkins’ claim. He agreed to the purchase price of $700.00. The name of the new town was suggested by C.B. Weeks in honor of the governor of Kansas. St John was established!

St John is in Stafford County, a mostly flat country with occasional clumps of grass-covered sand dunes. The eastern part has marshy areas that are home to millions of waterfowl. The gentle North Fork of the Ninnescah River meanders across the southeast quadrant. The Rattlesnake Creek runs diagonally through the county from west to east. Stafford County has been called the “Garden Spot of Kansas”. Stafford County is situated a little to the south and west of the center of the state. It was formed in 1879 from portions of the counties of Barton & Pratt. Originally Barton County extended as far south as 1^st Ave of the present St John. The county was named in memory of Lewis Stafford, Captain of Company E, First Kansas Infantry, who was accidentally killed at Young's Point, La., January 31, 1863.

It was on July 2, 1879 by an act of Governor John P St John that Stafford County came to be. He also named the new city of St John as the temporary county seat.

For a permanent County seat it was necessary for one town to receive a majority of the votes cast. 822 votes were cast; St John 411; Stafford 216; New Berg, 172; Livingston, 22; and Center, 1. It was ordered that St John be retained as only temporary County Seat.

Two buildings had been moved in from the country, one was used as a hotel, the other a dry goods store. Mail was still delivered to the Zion Valley post office but in May of 1879 the post office was moved to St John. C.B. Weeks was the first postmaster. The first business building erected in St John was put up by Henry Rohr on the West side of the square in September of 1879.

St John became the permanent county seat in 1882 by an act of the Kansas legislature which gave the permanent county seat to St John. For this permanent status, St John offered the county the public square in the center of town, 40 acres for a fairground, offices and courtrooms free of charge for five years.

The square park in the center of the town was known as “St. John’s mud and weed patch” because of the buffalo wallow’s frequent condition. It became time to change “from turnip patch to city”; the lease obligated the county to cultivate the square, plant trees and erect a fountain and to in fence the area.

Hesperian ladies from 1909 until 1914 did fundraising and earned approximately $5,000.00 for park improvements. They purchased a "fountain popular for the times" and dedicated it on October 17, 1913 to Thomas Mosely because of his interest and dedication to a pleasant and attractive park. The fountain was cast by J. L. Mott Co.

More St John Firsts:

The first deed on record is dated August 7, 1879.

The first marriage on record is dated September 15, 1879. It was for Mr. Fred Hawkins and Miss Delilah Kendall.

The first child born: on June 8, 1876, in Zion Valley, was Matilda Jane “Tilly” Sanders, her parents were Samuel & Mary Sanders, they lived on the homestead that later become Fairview Cemetery. She grew up and married Mr. Charles Schroder. She is Judy Webster Miller’s great, great grandmother. The birth of St John Cox occurred in Sept 1880 and was the first birth within the new city.

First death: Alice A Smith, daughter of JB Smith.

The First Methodist Church is one of the oldest in town. The charter was applied for in April 16^th, 1883. In June, 1883, ground was purchased where the original church stood, on Fifth Street, with only four charter members.

The first banks: In the spring of 1885 Royal Thompson came to start the Peoples Bank, later known as the First National Bank and now the American State Bank.

The St John State Bank was organized, by J. D. Stewart, in 1905, it has been an integral part of community ever since. The original stockholder and directors were: R. B. Temple, H. P. Temple, George Sill, F. B. Gillmore, and J. D. Stewart.

Through the years, officers and directors have included the names of such community leaders as R. H. Rixon, Howard Gray, William Dixon, C. A. Brown, P. O. Gray, C. E. Durham, Robert Garvin, Anna R. Brown, Rosa Stewart, Frank Harris, Herman Hullman, Frank Lickiss Jr., and Meryle Heyen.

The railroad came to town on July 4, 1886

Kansas Milling Company was founded in early 1890’s (in 1932 this mill burned)

April 19, 1910 water was turned into the mains of St John’s new water system.

By 1940 there were 310 oil wells in the county.

This photo is of the original High School - built on the same lot as the school now.

One of the most popular attractions in St John today is the St. John Science Museum (also known as Hood’s Science Technitorium) is a nationally known, working museum of scientific demonstrations that young and old can enjoy. In the museum you will see...

* Electricity traveling through the Air!
* A bicycle generator that puts You To Work!
* Fiber Optics work With No Cable!
* Magnetic Force Fields In Action!

The St. John Science Museum welcomes all visitors. It’s a great stop for school field trips, tour busses, or those out wandering the countryside looking for an interesting day.

Size isn’t Everything!

· As of 2007, St. John's population is 1,200 people. Since 2000, it has had a negative population growth of -8.95 percent.

· The median home cost in St. John is $73,000. Home appreciation the last year has been 1.34 percent.

· Compared to the rest of the country, St. John's cost of living is 31.33% Lower than the U.S. average.

· St. John public schools spend $6,380 per student. The average school expenditure in the U.S. is $6,058. There are about 12 students per teacher in St. John.

· The unemployment rate in St. John is 3.80 percent (U.S. avg. is 4.60%). Recent job growth is Positive. St. John jobs have increased by 0.28 percent.

Governor John Pierce St. John

John P. St. John was born at Brooksville, Indiana, in 1833. Soon after moving to Kansas in 1869 he became involved in the crusade to rid the state of liquor and was elected governor on a prohibitionist platform in 1878. During his administration, voters approved an amendment making Kansas a "dry" state. St. John transferred his efforts to the national stage in 1884 when he ran for president as the candidate of the national Prohibition Party. The former governor died at his Olathe home on August 31, 1916.

Co. C, 68th ILL. Infantry & Lieutenant Colonel in 143rd ILL. Infantry
John Pierce St. John, the eighth governor of Kansas, was born at Brookville, Franklin County, Indiana, on the twenty-fifth of February, 1833. His parents came originally from New York State.

During the Civil War, St. John served as Captain of Company C, 68th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, enlisting in April, 1862. Later he organized the 143d Regiment, Illinois Volunteer Infantry, of which he was Lieutenant-Colonel. He rendered gallant service during the war.

The Topeka Daily Capital, Friday, Sept. 1, 1916

JOHN P. ST. JOHN, TWICE GOVERNOR OF KANSAS, DIES Aug. 31, 1916
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Death Results from Illness Caused by Heat While Making Speech at Jetmore Two Months Ago.
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Kansan Is Credited with Defeat of Blaine for Presidency in 1884 by Becoming Candidate on Prohibition Ticket.
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Olathe, Kan., Aug. 31---John P. St. John, candidate for the presidency on the Prohibition ticket in 1884, twice governor of Kansas and one of the most widely known temperance advocates in the United States, died here tonight. He was 83 years old and had been in failing health since a heat prostration two months ago.

Bade Friends “Good-bye.” Governor St. John had been unconscious much of the time for the last week and shortly after 5 o’clock this evening fell into a deep sleep from which he never awakened. Death came at 6:40 o’clock. At 5 o’clock his business partner, W. V. E. Parker, called, “Good-bye Martin,” said Governor St. John as he left. Those were his last words. The illness of Governor St. John dates back to June 26, when he was prostrated by the heat while on a prohibition speaking tour at Jetmore, Kan. He came home and was forced to spend several weeks in bed. On July 30, he was able to attend the national convention of the Prohibition party at St. Paul, but the shock of the trip quickly put him back in his former condition. He returned to his home and had been gradually weakening since. Besides the widow Governor St. John leaves one son, John P. St. John Jr., an employee at the state penitentiary at Lansing.

Was Twice Governor.
John Pierce St. John was one of the most widely known temperance advocates in the United States. He was a candidate for president on the Prohibition ticket in 1884, and served two terms as governor of Kansas---1879-1883—during which Kansas became a prohibition state.

Describing the fight for prohibition in Kansas, Governor St. John once said: “The brewers had only themselves to blame for prohibition in Kansas. The first step toward a state-wide movement was at their suggestion. Mr. Hery, a minister, introduced in the house a high license and regulation bill. It stood a good chance of passage. To defeat it, the brewery agents suggested the people be given an opportunity to vote on state-wide prohibition. Of course it was not the purpose of the brewers to submit prohibition at all. But the coup to kill the high license bill killed the saloon in Kansas.

The Fight in Kansas. “The prohibitory amendment was submitted to the senate and passed. The house was to kill it. The brewers had it all figured out. Enough members favored high license, but not prohibition, they believed, to defeat any attempt to submit the proposition to the people. The brewers guessed wrong about public sentiment.
“Every influence was brought to bear on house members by the brewers. I was governor, but I couldn’t keep out of the fight. Violating all precedent, I left the governor’s office to help fight the battle on the house floor.
“The day for the vote came. The galleries were packed. The politicians tried hard to avoid a vote by hiding. The sergeant-at-arms was busy rounding them up and bringing them into the chamber. Finally the voting was begun. The silence was intense. We needed one vote to get the necessary two-thirds to carry the proposition thru. We did not know how to get it. All at once Mrs. Greaver (the wife of one of the members) started down the aisle to her husband’s desk. She stopped before him, and seizing his hand in hers, pleaded with him.
“For my sake, for the sake of your children, she cried, change your vote. Do it for my sake, for my sake, no matter what you believe.” “Greaver changed his vote, while the building shook with cheers.”

Veteran of Civil War.
Born at Brookville, Ind., February 25, 1833, St. John served as a captain and lieutenant colonel in the Civil war, and settled in Kansas, where he became a member of the state senate. He became a political factor when he won a fight to displace United States Senator Samuel E. Pomeroy. Pomeroy and St. John had been personal friends, but the later became displeased with the way Pomeroy conducted himself as a senator, and thereupon championed John J. Ingalls, Pomeroy’s opponent, who won. This made St. John a leader and resulted in his election as governor.

Once Called a “Traitor.”
He was called a “traitor” when he deserted the Republican party and became a candidate for president on the Prohibition ticket in ’84. During his campaign he was burned or hung in effigy more than 500 times. He was twice shot at but unhurt. Many Republicans attributed the defeat of James G. Blaine for president to St. John’s entrance into the race.

In 1912, notwithstanding his advanced age, he stumped Kansas for woman suffrage, declaring that when women had the vote they would have prohibition. In 1914 he campaigned in the east for prohibition, estimating that up to that time he had, altogether, traveled 150,000 miles and delivered 4,500 speeches in behalf of the prohibition cause.

When he was in the Kansas capital he inaugurated the first “water banquets,” with the result that liquor has been made taboo in the Kansas state house ever since.

The Topeka Daily Capital, Monday, Sept. 4, 1916
FUNERAL OF JOHN P. ST. JOHN
Imposing Ceremonies at Obsequies Over Late Ex-Governor of Kansas Held at Olathe.
Olathe, Kan., Sept. 1---The funeral of the late ex-Gov. John P. St. John was held here today with imposing ceremonies. Gov. Arthur Capper and ex-Gov. George H. Hodges delivered eulogies at the service, as did H. O. Farfa, of Chicago, representative of the national Prohibition party.
The funeral in charge of Dr. M. M. Culpepper, assisted by Rev. B. P. Rlepman, was held at the first Congregational church. The Olathe band led the funeral procession to the cemetery.

Compiled by not written by Alice Lockridge St John High School Class of 1969 for the Fabulous 40^th Reunion