How St. John Began ...
In 1832, following a peace treaty with the Indians, the United States purchased the northwestern portion of Indiana from the Potawatomi Indians. A few years later, in 1837, an immigrant farmer by the name of John Hack, brought his family to this Midwest wilderness, then referred to as Prairie West and inhabited by a small number of Native Americans.
John, his wife, Johanna, and their 11 children began farming a 40-acre piece of land purchased from the General Land Office of the Treasury and located approximately one-half mile east of Route 41 on the south side of Joliet Street. The Hack Cemetery can be found in this area. He is, by all historical references, considered to be the founding father and it is recorded that the town is named after this first settler, John Hack. The prefix “St.” was added for consonance and the town was originally known as “St. Johns.” The “s” was dropped when the town was incorporated in 1911.
Timeline research indicates that in 1842, John Hack built a peach brandy distillery which many believe to have been the first business in an area that was largely agricultural. Between 1839 and 1843 he was instrumental in the establishment of the first Roman Catholic congregation in Lake County, and the building of its first log cabin church. This original church building still stands today. The establishment of the first Catholic school soon followed. The year 1846 witnessed the beginnings of the first post office in the area and when it opened, John served as its postmaster, remaining in that position until two years before his death in 1856.
By 1870, 27 families lived in this community and the growth of business was apparent. With access to the railroad in 1881, farmers began sending milk by rail to Chicago. In 1911, St. John was incorporated as a town. Today, the population of St. John exceeds 13,000, yet its residents still enjoy the spaciousness of adjacent farmlands, a relaxed country atmosphere and the vast resources of the surrounding, flourishing metropolitan region.
