St. Johns

Spanish explorers named this spot on the Little Colorado River El Vadito, "Little River Crossing."

In 1871, Sol Barth founded a settlement along the river with his brothers and some Mexican families, then moved it 6 miles upstream to the present site the following year.

Residents named the community "San Juan" after its first female resident, Señora Maria an Juan de Padilla de Baca. Supposedly, the postal authorities refused to accept a "foreign" name, so it was changed to Saint John, with an "s" added for phonetic effect.