Entry No. 32 — the Des Moines file — filed under: ghost light
Granny Sprague Cemetery
“a pale blue light hovers above her stone in the final moments of each New Year's Eve”
Officially renamed the Niles-Sprague Pioneer Cemetery, this is reputedly "Iowa's Smallest Cemetery" — a single white-fenced grave in a railroad right-of-way holding six-year-old Mary Wright, who died in 1854. When the Rock Island Railroad forced a cemetery relocation, every grave was moved except hers; legend holds that a pale blue light hovers above her stone in the final moments of each New Year's Eve.
The move: Drive out to the lonely white-fenced grave at dusk, read Mary's weathered tombstone (replaced in 2016), and explore the adjacent highway pull-off; then walk the short distance into Homestead village for dinner at one of the Amana Colonies restaurants and swap ghost-light stories over a local Millstream beer.
📍 Before you go It's a roadside stop, not a destination you park at — the lone grave sits in a narrow strip between Highway 6/151 and the active rail line just outside Homestead, the oldest of the Amana Colonies. Watch for the white vinyl fence and the small name sign; it's easy to blow past at highway speed, so the GPS pin (41.76586, -91.89292) helps. Use the highway pull-off, keep visits brief and respectful since trains run the right-of-way, and skip it after a snow. Dusk gives the best mood; pair it with dinner and a Millstream beer in the Amana villages a few minutes away.
- 📍 Amana Colonies
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: Highway 6/151, Homestead, IA 52236 (GPS: 41.76586, -91.89292 — railroad right-of-way just off the highway)
Hours: Mined 2026-06-07 — confirm current hours before you go.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: midwesterndeathtrip.com · findagrave.com · thegazette.com
last checked: 2026-06-07