To get to the Church on Johnson Mesa, take Hwy 72 towards Folsom and enjoy the beautiful scenery. St. John Methodist Episcopal Church was built in 1897 and is open to the public, along with the cemetery.
Check out the following excerpt from Legends of America:
The settlement that grew on the mesa was called Bell for Marion Bell, and a post office was established in 1891 that operated out a small general store. More people came to the area and at one time, there was a family living on every 160 acres of land. The St. John’s Methodist Episcopal church was built in 1899. At one point, five schools were scattered around the mesa. The area residents held an annual celebration on August 14, the date the church was dedicated. July 4th was celebrated with horse races, foot races, and a rodeo. During the summer months, dances were held every week at a dance pavilion that was built on top of a large hay barn.
Bell’s population peaked in about 1900 with 487 residents.
But times were often hard on the mesa as winters were severe, often rendering the residents snowbound for weeks. During the rest of the year, the grass was in abundance, but the water was not. The long, cold winters defeated many farmers and by 1910 the population had dropped to 335.
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