The history of St John's Parish dates back to around 1911 when Catholics in the Woodland area began to gather in the chapel of St James Orphanage for worship rather than traveling to the Cathedral or St Joseph's- Gnesen. Under the leadership of Fr Thomas O'Donoghue, who became the first pastor in March 1915, the fledgling parish began to build the first story of its planned two-story church.
In 1918 the Woodland area was largely destroyed by the devastating Cloquet/ Moose Lake fire. Although the church itself survived, the community was ravaged. Furthermore, barely a year later, Fr O'Donoghue died. From these tragic experiences, however, God raised up a new pastor, Fr Michael Boland, who would lead and guide St John's for the next 46 years with a commitment to the education of the youth.
Msgr Boland continued the building of St John's in 1924 with the addition of a multipurpose room which allowed St John's school to open in 1926 with 100 students. Some years later, Msgr. Boland set his sights on building a new church and social hall which began in 1951 and was completed the next year. In 1954, after thirty years of waiting, a second story was added to the old church and the interior was completely renovated. In effect, the builnig became a "brand new" school which would educate our young people up to the present, and hopefully, for years to come. In the 1960's a new rectory was added and in 1999 a new gymnasium. Then in 2008 the sanctuary was remodeled. 
Our most recent project began in March of 2011 with plans to connect the church and school, which resulted in adding a gathering space, several new classrooms, and upgrading the kitchen with a serving area.