Pioneer Cemetery

Pioneer Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Mercer County and is the final resting place for many of the early pioneers who first settled in the Fort Recovery area. The large marker on this site lists the names of those buried here.

Temporary Burial Site of Soldiers who Died in Battles Fought at Fort Recovery.

This cemetery also served as a temporary burial place for the soldiers killed in the Indian battles fought here in 1791 and 1794. In 1851 the people of Fort Recovery discovered the bones of the fallen soldiers buried along the banks of the Wabash. on September 10, 1851, internment of the remains of these soldiers in this cemetery was attended by over 5000 people. The bones of Major General Richard Butler, found in 1872, were buried on July 4, 1876 near his comrades.

On October 16, 1891 the remains of the soldiers buried here were taken up, placed in two large caskets and lay in state for three days in the Disciple Church on South Wayne Street. The third day the caskets were moved to their third final resting place- the present Monument Park. A wood and iron railing enclosed the place of burial until the completion of the monument in 1912. Today all that was mortal of the soldiers who fell in 1791 and 1794 is now located in a crypt in the foundation of the monument. Marker placed in 2006 by the Fort recovery Historical Society and funded by the Cooper Family Foundation.