page_title: St. Johns, Portland, Oregon
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: St. Johns, Portland, Oregon / History
caption_attribution_description: English: A postcard of Jersey street in St. Johns, Oregon.
context_page_description: St. Johns is a neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, United States, located in North Portland on the tip of the peninsula formed by the confluence of the Willamette River and the Columbia River. It was a separate, incorporated city from 1902 until 1915, when citizens of both St. Johns and Portland voted to approve its annexation to Portland, which took effect on July 8, 1915.
  St. Johns is bordered by the Columbia River to the northeast, the Willamette River to the northwest, and the North Portland railroad cut to the southeast. The Cathedral Park neighborhood – which is home to the St. Johns Bridge, the only suspension bridge in the Willamette Valley – lies to the southwest.
context_section_description: Historian Eva Emery Dye, while looking at the original Lewis and Clark Expedition journals, made the discovery that William Clark made camp at the modern site of Cathedral Park near a Native American settlement for one night.
  St. Johns is named in honor of settler James John. He made his journey to the Pacific Northwest from Westport, Missouri in 1841. His first residence was in Linnton, Oregon before moving across the river no earlier than 1844. Five years after John's settlement, nearly 12 families laid claim to land in the vicinity. In 1865, John had a portion of his land surveyed and plotted into eight blocks for a townsite. Additional blocks were added in 1870 and 1876. John would often donate small parcels of his land to his friends without means. After his death, James John left his remaining personal property to the township of St. Johns to use to build a public school. It was John's wish that children of all religious denominations could study together and receive an education that stressed the importance of civic engagement. John requested that all of his assets be sold off to raise funds for first his burial and funeral and the remainder to building the new school house.
  B. O. Severance of Maine erected a saw mill in St. Johns during the late 1860s, making it the first established industry in the townsite. After bankruptcy, the building was sold and converted into a barrel manufacturing plant for the sugar trade. After bags became common for sugar transport, the barrel company was forced out of business. The building was again sold, this time to the Central Lumber Company. According to The Oregonian, the first electric sawmill in the United States was constructed in St. Johns by M. B. Rankin of the Electric Sawmill company in 1903. After the building's erection the owners changed hands and production went dormant. The saw itself was a success, but the financiers of the mill failed to keep up a steady output of lumber.
  In 1902, the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company built a new line along the harbor. After the railway was completed, several businesses flocked to St. Johns, the first being the Portland Manufacturing Plant.
  St. Johns was officially recognized as a municipality by the Oregon State Legislature on January 5, 1902. Early citizens tasked with incorporation of their small town formed a new school district and petitioned the county court for a vote of approval. In 1904, the St. Johns Civic Improvement League was established to help the infant city catch up with the more established sites along the Willamette River. For almost two years after the town was established the streets remained unnamed and houses went unnumbered, making postal service impossible.
  The electric streetcar line in St. Johns connecting the town to Albina and Portland was petitioned in 1902 by the University Park Board of Trade. Passengers were forced to board a steam streetcar at Killingsworth and Williams if they wanted to travel to the peninsula. Work began to electrify the line in June 1902.
  The St. Johns Shipbuilding Plant was established in 1904 with US$10,000 in capital.
  The St. Johns Library opened in 1907 after years of community interest in a reading room. T. J. Monahan was the president of the library committee during its construction. Upon its completion, the Portland Library donated 200 books to the new establishment.
caption: A postcard featuring Jersey Street in St. Johns.
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