The Slovac Colonization Company in 1894 began to sell land to all of the immigrants who came pouring into the area. Thus the Slovak community came into existance on August 10, 1894. There were many different families who came and settled here; many, too, who left, but those who stayed, today lie in our cemetery.
Around 1900 Saints Cyril and Methodius Church originated. The Parish was first served by priests from Holy Rosary Church in Stuttgart, including fathers: McQuain, Herrington, Schlatterer, and others. When the priest was not available, church members, Mr. Joseph Miklik, Grandpa Michael Matoske, Mr. Androu Konecny, and Mr. Steve Dolny, conducted prayer services. This continued until about 1918.
In 1918, Father Louis Glinski became the pastor. He took over the church whose construction began in 1915 and was completed in 1918. He was Slovak's first permanent pastor. On December 8, 1903, Joseph and Elizabeth Miklik donated one acre of land to the church for a cemetery. Mr. Miklik did this as he said, "so that the people would not have to pay for a place to be buried." Later, Joseph and Anna Hiryak purchased the Miklik property and on May 27, 1935, gave the cemetery plot to the church. John and Elizabeth Hiryak in the 1970's gave an additional one-half acre to the cemetery.
The first person buried in the cemetery was a five-year-old little girl, Mary Sandor, on October 11, 1900. This was three years before the acreage was given to the church. Katrina Balog Lorinc, was 100 years, 6 months old. She was the oldest thusfar, as of February 16, 1989, to be buried in this cemetery.
Two hundred and sixty-eight people have been buried in the cemetery during its eighty-nine years of existence. Of these 268 people, 32 are known veterans. The cemetery was logged on October 28, 1988, by Cyril and Helen Plafcan; doubled-checked and catalogued for the computer on November 11, 1988 by Marilyn Hambrick Sickel.
One more unique aspect of this cemetery is that as cemeteries go, most gravesites run east to west. This cemetery was plotted north to south.
NOTE: Even though this list is complete, there is not a marker for every gravesite.
