Saint Johns Arizona
Located in Apache County, eastern Arizona, the community is 18 miles west of the New Mexico border, 29 miles north of Springville and 50 miles south of Interstate 40. It was originally named by early Spanish explorers as “El Vadito” which means “little river crossing.” In 1873, during the time when Solomon Barth acquired land and cattle and settled nearby, the town became a thriving Spanish-American agricultural community. It was founded in 1879 at the arrival Mormon pioneer settlers from Utah. The name EL Vadito was then changed to San Juan, Spanish for St. John, then Saint Johns when the town was officially established in the year 1880. It was incorporated in 1946.
Sitting at 5,730 feet above sea-level, the town of Saint Johns has a total population of 3,595 as of U.S. Census 2004. Traditionally an agricultural community, the town is slowly catching up with the times with the convergence of traditional values and new technology. It now has two fossil-fueled power plants and a data communications earth station which employs much of its residents. Saint Johns is also the county seat of Apache County.
