I proudly bought my first house in the St. Johns neighborhood six years ago, and I still think it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. My ‘hood is still one of the cheapest places in the Portland Metro area to buy property and is currently enjoying attention of Portland Development Commission funds, which has brought us the Oregon Main Street Program. Joined with a true community-powered spirit and a rich historical story (for instance I just love the complicated story around the missing apostrophe, or unnecessary “s” in St. Johns, depending on how you look at it*) it’s not hard to understand why generations have raised families here. Nor is it surprising why new folks want to move here and do the same.
Occupied in the past at various times by Native Americans, famous explorers Lewis & Clark, and of course settler James John, the St. Johns neighborhood is on the upswing. It’s not yet feeling the stain of gentrification, I think in part because of lots of talking between amongst long-time residents and new residents, St. Johns has a small town feel and beckons forward thinking. I am a devoted fan.
Now I have another reason to shout its virtues: this Saturday July 11 marks the start of the first-ever St. Johns Farmers Market! That’s right, fresh fruit, veggies and COFFEE will be in the St. Johns Plaza marketplace every Saturday in the St Johns Plaza starting July 11th from from 9am-1pm. It runs until September 26.
To celebrate, this Saturday the first 100 people at the SJFM information book will receive a coupon for a FREE gelato from LeGong Gelato, St. Johns’ friendly gelato place. (Yes, we have a gelato place. And a fencing school, too. Where you been??) There’s a lot of information on the SJFM site at. (Be sure to check out the recipe page, which is where I found instructions on making LeLo‘s Mint vinegar.)
St. Johns Farmer's Market Kicks-off July 11
Also this Saturday, County Commissioner Jeff Cogen will ring the market bell (literally) at 8:50am to kick-off the season. This is followed at 9am by my friend Angel (owner of Ladybug Coffee) will give a demonstration on salsa-making, and later in the day Jim White will talk about smart irrigation in gardens. Both the Roosevelt high school jazz band and Kate Man are scheduled to entertain. There’s a lot going on! A full day of activities are planned, and according the the SJFM site, that is the status quo: music and demonstrations are planned for every Saturday during the season.
I’ll be there to enjoy the hard work of friends and neighbors who have joined together to make the St. Johns Farmer’s Market a reality. Hope to see you there!
* You may have heard the legend of how the St. Johns neighborhood got its name, that it’s a tribute to the eccentric yet kindly settler of the area, James John, deemed a “Saint” for refusing to visit the brothel and for leaving a small fortune to the children living in St. Johns in his will. (This will, by the way, was unsuccessfully contested by John’s survivors for years in courts.) There are two things that bothered me about this story. 1) This alleged Saintliness, and 2) Shouldn’t the name then be St. John’s? With a possessive apostrophe? Or with no “s” at the end at all?
Thanks to stalwart neighborhood historians, I’ve got some information that clears things up. Well, satisfies me, at least. According to a handwritten deed by James John in 1872, which is owned by a Mrs. Toost and filed in Washington DC archives, John himself calls it the town of St. John. No apostrophe, no “s”. So was everyone else living in the area. John might have been known for his generosity and refusing to pay for sex, but he also had a great ironic sense of humor to bestow Sainthood on himself.
I’ve also discovered a condensed version of articles written by Laura Minkler, published in the oldest neighborhood newspaper, St. Johns Review, which discusses the issue of calling the area St. Johns instead of St. John. For a short while in the early 1900s this issue was hotly debated, with the St. Johns Push Club and the Oregon Historical Society making waves in an effort to officially drop the “s” in the name St. Johns. Finally, the Oregon Geographical Board decided that because James John had filed the original townsite plat under the name St. Johns, with an “s”, and because name was already recognized that way in federal post office records, changing it would be too much trouble.
Mystery solved! About the missing apostrophe or lack of “s”, anyway. Who knows if John actually was a saint, or just a jokester. My guess is both. 
View St. Johns in a larger map
{ 5 comments }
MediaChick,
Thanks for your great re-cap on why St. Johns is such an awesome place to live! Also, thanks for mentioning the upcoming St. Johns Farmers Market. We are so excited that, after 18 months or so of planning, its all going to be a reality this Saturday! See you there!
This is going to be great. I wonder what sort of volunteer opportunities there are?
Tyler
Tyler: Yep LOTS of fun. I have a posse coming with me this Saturday. Btw, here’s the volunteer sign-up form for those interested in helping out with the St. Johns Farmer’s Market: http://www.sjfarmersmarket.com/?attachment_id=147
Oddly, I had always heard bad things about the St Johns area when I first moved to Oregon. Glad to see those things are wrong. The wife and I are considering a possible move out of Clackamas (hard, since my job is about 10 minutes away), maybe we’ll have to consider St Johns because we REALLY want a house.
And you must have noticed by now that local old-timers call it “Sauvie’s Island” rather then the official map designation of Sauvie Is. It did once belong to a Monsieur Sauvie, who received it as a retirement gift from Dr. John McLaughlin. Or so I remember reading.
As I’ve only heard it verbally so mentioned, can’t say if there’s an apostrophe or not!
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