Saint Jo is one of the oldest towns in Montague County. It was founded in the 1850s during the California Gold Rush by brothers E.S. and Ithane Singletary and John Hughes, who hoped to find gold there. The community they started became known as Head of Elm because of its location at the headwaters of the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. In 1858, Head of Elm ran and lost the race for county seat. A post office opened there in 1859 with another pioneer, John Womble, as postmaster, and an early store and saloon were owned by Dominick Burns. The town grew again when the Chisholm Cattle Trail was located through it about 1868. By 1871 the village had a post office, a blacksmith shop, and five stores. In 1872, I.H. Boggess, owner of the Stonewall Saloon, and Joe Howell bought 640 acres of land and laid out the townsite, which Boggess named Joe for Howell. One story says he added Saint because Howell was a staunch non-drinker, while another says he added it to make the name longer. Citizens built an all-faiths church in 1874, and a newspaper was established in 1876. Saint Jo was organized as a town in 1880 and incorporated in 1886. Since that time, its population has remained about 1,000 and its economy has continued to be based on farming and ranching.