Tryon County Courthouse is the only colonial period courthouse still in use in New York State. Tryon County was formed in March 1772 after much lobbying by Sir William Johnson, who donated most of the money needed to build a new courthouse designed by Samuel Fuller of Schenectady, the architect for Johnson Hall. Four of the first judges in the King's Court were Sir William's Masonic brothers in St. Patrick's Lodge. Those four—John Butler, Guy Johnson, Johnson, and Daniel Claus—remained loyal to Britain, while three other judges, Peter Conye, John Wells, and Jelles Fonda, supported the American cause. In 1777 Walter Butler, John's oldest son and a lawyer in Johnstown, was arrested for trying to recruit locals to the British cause after the Battle of Oriskany. General Benedict Arnold brought him to trial there, where Colonel Marinus Willet presided and Walter Butler was convicted as a traitor and spy. He later escaped to Canada and returned to the area only as part of British military raids.