"The German Society Methodist Church and Cemetery was located in Section 20 Mariposa Township. The small group of members selected the site for their church and cemetery about three miles East and South of the long-extinct Horn Post Office. The land was sold to the church organization the 31st of October 1881 by Konrad and Louisa Stuckmeier Klopping for the sum of $1.00. The deed reads, "... to be used for the exclusive use of church and cemetery grounds." The congregation built a church and, as was the custom, established a cemetery in the churchyard.
"The church was closed in 1902, torn down and the lumber used to build a nearby farm house. The cemetery having few burials remained cared for and was in danger of being lost when in 1983 members of the Mariposa Grange, the Jasper Cemetery Commission and friends cleared the brush from the site and erected a fence and a sign leading to the cemetery. Until this measure to preserve the cemetery took place, only a lone choke cherry tree, high on a hill, in the middle of a corn field marked the small area.
"There is an unknown number of graves only two stones are still readable. [See grave stones and names below]
"The stone of Henry Maves leans against the cherry tree [Pioneer Cemetery Commission has now reset the stone as shown below] and still standing is the stone of Fred Vieth. Mr. Vieth was killed by lightening bolt on his farm in 1893. He was returning from mending a fence, when the sudden storm struck. He left a wife and an eight month old son.
"The cemetery is fences off and farmed around. It is hard to reach but can be visited in the early spring or late fall when there are no crops in the ground." Page 160
Source: Jasper County, Iowa Cemeteries: Malaka, Mariposa and Hickory Grove Townships, compiled by Jasper County Genealogical Society; published by the Iowa Genealogical Society. Copyright 1994. Used with their permission.
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