Saint John (alternately Saint John's) is a neighborhood of Austin,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

within the 78752 zip code. Geographically, the neighborhood straddles

Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border ...

. It is bounded on the west by Middle Fiskville Road and Twincrest, on the south by U.S. 290, on the north by Anderson Lane, and on the east by Cameron Road.

History

The neighborhood is named for the St. John's Industrial Institute and Home for Negro Orphans, which was built in 1906 and burned down in the 1940s. The institute and

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or ab ...

was operated by the St. John Regular Missionary Baptist District Association, which was formed by a group of African-American ministers in Wheatville. The association also hosted an annual

encampment Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

on the site of the institute. The land was eventually sold and developed into the

Highland Mall Highland Mall was a shopping mall located in north Austin, Texas, United States, on Airport Boulevard west of I-35 and north of US Route 290. Opened in 1971, Highland Mall was Austin's first suburban shopping mall. Highland Mall was jointly owned ...

. As part of the redevelopment of Highland Mall into a mixed-use

Austin Community College The Austin Community College District (ACC) is a public community college system serving the Austin, Texas, metropolitan area and surrounding Central Texas communities. The college maintains numerous campuses, centers, and distance learning opt ...

campus, part of the land was redeveloped into an urban park called "St. John's Encampment Commons". Researchers from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...

have identified the Saint John and adjacent Coronado Hills neighborhood as vulnerable to

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ec ...

as of the late 2010s.

Education

Public primary and secondary education

Saint John is served by the

Austin Independent School District Austin Independent School District (AISD) is a school district based in the city of Austin, Texas, United States. Established in 1881, the district serves most of the City of Austin and surrounding towns, the City of Sunset Valley, the Village ...

. Students in the neighborhood are zoned for one of three elementary schools (Brown Elementary School, Pickle Elementary School, or Reilly Elementary School), Webb Middle School, and one of three high schools ( Juan Navarro Early College High School,

McCallum High School A. N. McCallum High School is a public high school in Austin, Texas, United States. McCallum, the second oldest high school in the Austin Independent School District (formerly known as Austin Public Schools prior to desegregation in 1971), open ...

, or Northeast Early College High School).

Recreation

St. John Park is located within the Saint John neighborhood, as is the Virginia L. Brown Recreation Center and the St. John Branch of Austin Public Library.

References

{{coord, 30.3300, N, 97.6980, W, type:city_scale:500, display=title Neighborhoods in Austin, Texas Populated places in Texas established by African Americans Ethnic enclaves in Texas