Memorial Cairn For John Butler

Memorial Cairn For John Butler. . , [West side] John Butler, 1728-1796 , John Butler was an army officer, Indian agent, and Loyalist leader and was one of the most important figures in the early years of Ontario. , The son of a British army Officer, Butler moved to New York's Mohawk Valley in 1742. He befriended William Johnson, a man who was instrumental in forging alliances between the British and the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy. By 1755, Butler was an interpreter for the British Indian Department. , During the American Revolution, Butler formed a regiment of Rangers that operated out of Fort Niagara against the rebellious colonists led by George Washington. In 1778, Butler established barracks for his men on the west side of the Niagara River in what is now Niagara-on-the-Lake. , Following the revolution, he led the men of Butler's Rangers from the newly independent United States to settle in Canada. Butlers Rangers and their families were the first non-Aboriginal settlers of the Niagara peninsula. , Butler lived on this site and remained active in Indian affairs, serving as the Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs to the Six Nations. , John Butler died on this site in 1796 and was interred in the nearby family burial ground. , [East side] The Butler Homestead , Colonel Butler lived here with his wife, Catharine Bradt, who died in 1793. Butler died in 1796, willing his estate to his sons. Because Butler was an important man in Indian affairs and was a prominent political leader in Upper Canada (Ontario), he was visited by army officers stationed at Fort Niagara, by prominent Canadians, and by influential Aboriginal leaders travelling to this area. , Along with a frame house, the homestead included several outbuildings. During the War of 18 12, the homestead was occupied by American soldiers after they captured the town of Niagara and Fort George in May 1813. His homestead was fortified by the Americans and was the focus point of several sharp skirmishes during the summer of 1813. When the American Army retreated in December, they burned the entire town, including Butler's homestead. , [South side] Finding Butler's Homestead , Following the War of 18 12, knowledge of the exact location of Butler's home was lost. The farm had become pasture and the ruins of the homestead remained hidden beneath the turf. When the development of a residential subdivision threatened to obliterate the ruins of the home of Niagara's founding father, steps were taken to locate the exact site and preserve it for future generations. An archaeological excavation uncovered what had been buried for almost two centuries. The dig uncovered stone foundations and a treasure of artifacts ranging from prehistoric Aboriginal artifacts through mi!itary buttons and fragments of the fine china used when the Butlers entertained the upper classes of early Ontario. , Through the efforts of many people, the site of John Butler's homestead is preserved for all time. , [North side is a list of donors]