St. Johns Community

St. Johns Community, located in what is now north Austin in Travis County, was established by the St. Johns Regular Missionary Baptist Association, a group of black churches that built the St. Johns Industrial Home for Black Orphans in 1907. The orphanage, at a site on what is now Airport Boulevard near Highland Mall, was destroyed by fire, but was rebuilt in 1911 by John Andrewartha. Most residents of the St. Johns community were former sharecroppers who built homes near the orphanage. The orphanage closed in 1942, and the City of Austin annexed the St. Johns community in 1951.