Sarteneja was established when 40 refugees fled from the Caste War of Yucatan in 1854.[1]
On November 8, 1942 a hurricane struck Sarteneja and did great damage.[2]
Hurricane Janet in 1955 is an important historic marker in the village as the destruction and the reconstruction that followed changed the character of the village from thatch-leaf houses to stone and concrete house.[1]
The Catholic School had 34 students in 1927 and 35 in 1928.[3][4]
In The Handbook of British Honduras 1888-89 it is stated that P. Aragon was appointed as Deputy Registrar for Sarteneja in 1887.[5]
From at least 1917[6] to 1928[4] Sarteneja had a catholic mission under the St. Francis Xavier's Church, from Settlement 64.
The Sarteneja Church is under the North Belize Mission Conference (Settlement 64) in the Belize Union Mission (Settlement 12) of the Inter-American Division (Miami, Florida) of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. In 2025 they had 147 members.[7]