St. John’s was founded in 1950 to offer an Episcopal presence in the Oakland Hills. In 1952, an acre of land on Gouldin Road was purchased for the permanent home of the church. A house was situated on the property where the current education wing now stands and was first used for services, and then for Sunday School. In 1954, our current sanctuary was built to serve as both a worship space and parish hall. What is now known as St. John’s House along with two thirds of an acre of land was purchased in 1955 for additional Sunday School facilities and parking. In 1957, the lot above St. John’s was acquired for The Rectory, which was built within the next year by 70 parish volunteers. Then in 1964, the original Gouldin Road home was torn down and the education wing was constructed. More recently, Thornhill I was acquired in 1997 and Thornhill II was acquired in 1998 in anticipation of expanding the campus.

The archive is the official memory of St. John's Episcopal Church in Oakland. It holds the parish's non-active original documents of corporation, records of parish administration, programming, publications, records of community involvement, and parishioner offerings given with the "intention to remember." Record formats include paper documents, photographic materials, magnetic tape, electronic records, and 3D artifacts.

The archive is kept in a dedicated space in two vertical cabinets (~25-30 linear feet of shelving) in an administrative area in frequent use. The records are off the floor, in no danger of water damage from plumbing, neither in extreme heat nor cold, and in as fire resistant location as any space on the St. John's campus. The records are shielded from dust, sunlight and UV rays with record containment and protective coverings with no nearby food pantries to attract insects. An expansive table top in the room provides space for processing existing and incoming records.