The History of St. John Catholic School
The history of St. John the Evangelist School begins in the mid-1800s with the presence of the Pensacola Navy Yard and the needs of its employees and their families.
The U.S. Navy's permanent establishment in Pensacola began in 1825 with the founding of the Navy Yard on Tartar Point. In 1828, to accommodate the approximately 500 workers and their families, the U.S. government authorized the building of two villages adjacent to the Navy Yard. The villages were named Warrington and Woolsey. Original Warrington settlers reflected a substantial Irish and Spanish influence, and it was estimated that 90% of Old Warrington was Catholic. In 1850 the Secretary of the Navy authorized construction of a Catholic church on the Navy Yard to accommodate the spiritual needs of the workers and their families. On May 4 th , 1851 St. John the Evangelist Church was dedicated. It wasn't until 1874 that the Sisters of St. Joseph opened St. John's Academy. However, this was during an epidemic of Yellow Fever, and the Sisters spent much of their time caring for the sick. This epidemic claimed the lives of many in this area including two of the Sisters. They were no longer able to care for the school and community, and in 1878 the Sisters of Mercy succeeded the Sisters of St. Joseph as teachers at the school.
On October 6, 1882 fire destroyed St. John's church, school, and convent. After the fire, the Sisters continued to teach in a rented house. The community survived yet another horrific Yellow Fever epidemic in 1905 (the last in Pensacola's history) and the great hurricane of 1906. However, in 1911 the era of steel ships being built instead of wood closed the Navy Yard leaving many parishioners forced to leave the area to look for work elsewhere. Through all of this the school bell still rang and the church still prayed. Life turned around for the Warrington area with the announcement in 1914 from Franklin Delano Roosevelt that the Navy Yard would re-open as the Pensacola Aeronautical Station; however, St. John's Church, Convent and School would need to move its building off the Navy Yard grounds and into Old Warrington.
In 1930 the land on which "Old Warrington" was located was reacquired by the U.S. Government for further expansion of the Naval Air Station and orders were issued for all living on the Navy reservation to move. As a result, a new site was founded for St. John the Evangelist where New Warrington is now situated. Our Church was given until April 1, 1931 to be moved. On Ash Wednesday, 1931, the Church, Rectory, and Convent were demolished and the best materials were used to rebuild the Church, School, and Rectory. During the erection of these buildings, Mass and School were held in the small schoolhouse, which was moved intact to the new site. The new school was completed by the end of April 1931, the Rectory by July 1931, and the Church by August 1931.
St. John School steadily exceeded its capacity and on September 3, 1948, a new brick school house with eight classrooms, an office, library, two utility rooms and four lavatories was opened. A new Convent was built next to the school building that same year for the Sisters who had been living in a small bungalow. In 1956 a large multipurpose auditorium was built behind the school. In the early 1970s an additional old house behind the school was purchased by St. John's Church and remodeled for the Kindergarten class. Another building was constructed next to the auditorium to accommodate overflow of the 1 st and 2 nd grades. Eventually this new building housed 1 st grade and Kindergarten classes, while the old, remodeled building started a new Pre-Kindergarten program. After a few short years and additional remodeling, the Pre-Kindergarten was moved to its present location and today shares the newest building with the Kindergarten program.
In July 2008, the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco, also known as Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, succeeded the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Sisters of Mercy who kept Christ the center of St. John School. While using leadership, fortitude, and prayer, the Sisters have provided an authentic Catholic education for 135 years. In 2010, the Salesian sisters moved to other assignments, and St. John the Evangelist Catholic School continues its mission begun so many years ago to provide a Christ-centered environment full of mercy and compassion using reason, religion, and loving kindness.