Several more mills were soon built in St. Johns, and the settlement flourished as the most important industrial centre on the Niagara Peninsula.

The cabin continues to be used for educational purposes, and is the oldest extant public school in Ontario.

[3] In December 1837, following the failed Toronto Rebellion, rebel leader William Lyon Mackenzie escaped to the United States with the help of Samuel Chandler (1791-1866), a wagon maker in St. Johns.

The following June, a group of rebels travelled from Grand Island, New York, to Pelham, where they, with Chandler, participated in the Short Hills raid, attacking 10 Queen's Lancers stationed at Osterhout's tavern in St Johns.

The centre is operated by the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority, and serves 10,000 students per year.