This 7 mile X 14 mile basalt capped mesa was formed from the volcanoes in the distance and is about 2000 feet above the surrounding terrain. The name is derived from Elijah "Lige" Johnson who settled just south and let his cattle graze on this grass land.
By the 1880s, farmers and unhappy miners from the nearby Sugarite coal mines, had begun to settle and homesteads were filed on every 160 acres. There were up to four schools on the mesa at one time. A postoffice was established under the name of Bell, after one of the homesteaders, Alonso S. Bell, and was in operation from 1891 to 1933.
Conditions became harsh and by the end of WW I, residents had begun to leave. Nowadays, a few families live on the mesa but only during the summer.
The St. Johns Church across the highway from the Johnson Mesa Cemetery was built in 1897 and appears to still be in use. Please replace the container as found.
This cache is placed as a tribute to the Bell and Johnson Mesa pioneers. Please respect these premises. As a cacher, your volunteer support is solicited to place a cache at or near a cemetery of your choice.