# St. Johns, Arizona

St. Johns (Navajo: Tsézhin Deezʼáhí, pronounced) is the county seat of Apache County, Arizona, United States. It is located along U.S. Route 180, mostly west of where that highway intersects with U.S. Route 191. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 3,480.

## History

The location was originally called Tsézhin Deezʼáhí in Navajo, a reference to its rock formations. The site of a useful crossing of the Little Colorado River, it was later called El Vadito (Spanish for "the little crossing") by Spaniards as they first explored the area. Starting in 1864, a trader named Solomon Barth began crossing the area as he moved salt from a salt lake in Zuni territory to Prescott, Arizona. In a poker game in 1873 Barth earned enough money to purchase cattle and enough land in St. Johns to start a ranch with his brothers Nathan and Morris. He changed the name from El Vadito to San Juan. There is some controversy as to whether this was in honor of the first woman resident, Maria San Juan Baca de Padilla, or of the feast of San Juan. William R. Milligan arrived in 1866, followed by Frank Walker in 1870. By 1872 a Spanish-American agricultural community had developed. A stone cabin was erected by Juan Sedilla in 1874. Solomon Barth sold out to Mormon Ammon M. Tenney in 1875 or 1879. A Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints community named Salem and led by David King Udall was established just north of the town under the direction of Wilford Woodruff on March 29, 1880, and then moved to higher ground by Erastus Snow on September 19 of the same year.
St. Johns has been the county seat for almost all of Apache County's history. When the county was created on February 24, 1879, Snowflake was designated the county seat. After the first election in fall 1879, county government was set up in St. Johns, though it was moved again in 1880, to Springerville; in 1882 St. Johns again became the county seat, and it has remained so ever since.

## Geography and climate

St. Johns is located in the White Mountains in northeast Arizona. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.1 square miles (67.6 square kilometers), of which 25.9 square miles (67.1 km$^2$) is land and 0.19 square miles (0.5 km$^2$), or 0.68%, is water.
The climate is humid continental (Dsb) with cold, snowy winters and warm summers with relatively greater precipitation via erratic thunderstorms. Large diurnal temperature variations are typical, so warm days are often followed by freezing nights.
Climate data for St. Johns, Arizona, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1901–present :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 70 (21) | 72 (22) | 76 (24) | 80 (27) | 86 (30) | 95 (35) | 92 (33) | 91 (33) | 90 (32) | 84 (29) | 73 (23) | 69 (21) | 95 (35) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 60 (16) | 61 (16) | 65 (18) | 71 (22) | 79 (26) | 86 (30) | 88 (31) | 83 (28) | 81 (27) | 76 (24) | 68 (20) | 62 (17) | 89 (32) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 45.8 (7.7) | 47.5 (8.6) | 50.5 (10.3) | 59.1 (15.1) | 67.2 (19.6) | 76.3 (24.6) | 77.1 (25.1) | 75.0 (23.9) | 72.9 (22.7) | 65.0 (18.3) | 55.1 (12.8) | 48.5 (9.2) | 61.7 (16.5) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 26.2 (−3.2) | 28.1 (−2.2) | 32.3 (0.2) | 39.5 (4.2) | 45.8 (7.7) | 54.2 (12.3) | 60.1 (15.6) | 58.7 (14.8) | 53.8 (12.1) | 45.1 (7.3) | 35.4 (1.9) | 28.9 (−1.7) | 42.3 (5.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 6.7 (−14.1) | 8.2 (−13.2) | 14.2 (−9.9) | 19.9 (−6.7) | 24.5 (−4.2) | 32.1 (0.1) | 43.0 (6.1) | 42.2 (5.7) | 34.6 (1.4) | 25.1 (−3.8) | 15.8 (−9.0) | 9.4 (−12.6) | 23.0 (−5.0) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −17 (−27) | −14 (−26) | −6 (−21) | 7 (−14) | 15 (−9) | 22 (−6) | 35 (2) | 34 (1) | 25 (−4) | 15 (−9) | −1 (−18) | −11 (−24) | −22 (−30) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −40 (−40) | −33 (−36) | −27 (−33) | −9 (−23) | 4 (−16) | 12 (−11) | 23 (−5) | 25 (−4) | 16 (−9) | 3 (−16) | −15 (−26) | −30 (−34) | −40 (−40) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 2.89 (73) | 1.84 (47) | 2.34 (59) | 1.15 (29) | 0.43 (11) | 0.98 (25) | 4.92 (125) | 4.93 (125) | 2.17 (55) | 2.04 (52) | 1.47 (37) | 2.70 (69) | 27.86 (707) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 24.8 (63) | 17.9 (45) | 17.4 (44) | 6.3 (16) | 1.1 (2.8) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 1.8 (4.6) | 7.4 (19) | 21.2 (54) | 97.9 (248.4) |
| Source: WRCC ||||||||||||||

## Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,269 people, 989 households, and 805 families residing in the city. The population density was 494.8 inhabitants per square mile (191.0 inhabitants per square kilometer). There were 1,392 housing units at an average density of 210.7 units per square mile (81.4 units/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the city was 80.5% White, 0.4% African American, 6.2% Native American, 0.3% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 9.1% from other races, and 3.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23.2% of the population.
There were 989 households, out of which 44.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.7% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.6% were non-families. 15.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.19 and the average family size was 3.55.
In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 35.5% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,215, and the median income for a family was $37,478. Males had a median income of $38,477 versus $24,009 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,331. About 12.5% of families and 15.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.2% of those under age 18 and 10.8% of those age 65 or over.

## Attractions

St. Johns is home to the Apache County Historical Society Museum and has four National Register of Historic Places:
* Isaacson Building
* Lower Zuni River Archeological District
* Lyman Lake Rock Art Site
* Rattlesnake Point Pueblo
St. Johns is near the Placerias Quarry, the site where dozens of Placerias fossils were discovered in 1930 by Charles Camp and Samuel Welles, of the University of California, Berkeley.
Saint Johns is along the shortest and most scenic route from Phoenix to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Within an hour's drive from St. Johns are Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, Petrified Forest National Park, the Painted Desert, and Lyman Lake State Park, as well as Indian reservations such as the Navajo Nation, Fort Apache Indian Reservation, San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, and Zuni Indian Reservation.

## Annual events

* Pioneer Days sponsored by the St. Johns Arizona Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
* San Juan Fiesta sponsored by St. Johns Catholic Church
* Apache County Fair
* Christmas Light Parade

## Education
### Primary and secondary schools

St. Johns is served by the St. Johns Unified School District. The city is served by Coronado Elementary School, St. Johns Middle School, and St. Johns High School. The city is home to the St. Johns Center of Northland Pioneer College.

### Public libraries

The Apache County Library District has its headquarters facility and the St. Johns Public Library in St. Johns.

## Economy

The Salt River Project operates the Coronado Generating Station near St. John's.

## Transportation

BNSF Railway serves the Coronado Generating Station on its Coronado Subdivision.

## Notable people

* Albert Franklin Banta, territorial politician and newspaper editor
* Rachel Allen Berry, first woman elected to Arizona Legislature
* Jack A. Brown, Arizona state legislator and rancher
* Rex E. Lee, U.S. Solicitor General, founding Dean of BYU Law School, President of BYU
* Eric Shumway, President of BYU Hawaii
* Brady Udall, writer
* Don Taylor Udall, state legislator and judge
* David King Udall, state legislator and politician
* Ida Hunt Udall, diarist and homesteader
* Jesse Addison Udall, Chief Justice of Arizona Supreme Court
* Levi Stewart Udall, Apache County Attorney, Apache County Supreme Court Judge and Chief Justice of Arizona Supreme Court
* Morris "Mo" Udall, politician, one time candidate for President of the U.S.
* Stewart Udall, politician, U.S. Secretary of Interior