Previous to the foundation of St. Anthony, Major Andrew Henry established a short-lived fort a few miles west of where the city stands today.

About this same time, a bridge was built over the Henrys Fork where St. Anthony stands today.

He taught school in the city and served as postmaster from 1908 to 1913 before being elected as governor of Idaho in 1922.

[14][15] The first county courthouse was built in 1909, with the first cinema opening in 1911 to show silent films.

[17] St. Anthony is located along the Henrys Fork of the Snake River and on US Highway 20 about 10 miles northeast of Rexburg.

The city is situated about 70 miles from the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

St. Anthony experiences a continental climate (Köppen Dfb) with long, cold, snowy winters and hot summers.

Within St. Anthony there are several city parks and walking trails offering many different recreational activities.

[22] There is also a swimming area along the river, several baseball diamonds and a skate park.

[23] Located north and northwest of the city is the St. Anthony Sand Dunes, a 10,600 acre area of white quartz sand protected by a wilderness study area and containing one of the largest herds of wintering elk in the United States.

Along with the 2,500 elk that winter near the sand dunes, there are also 1,500 mule deer and 500 moose in the area.

[30] St. Anthony is part of the Fremont County Joint School District.

For both junior and senior high school, St. Anthony draws in students from nearby Parker and Teton.