Pioneer Cemetery, the oldest cemetery in Mercer County, is the final resting place for many of the early pioneers who first settled in the Fort Recovery area. It also served as a temporary burial place for soldiers killed in the Indian battles fought at Fort Recovery in 1791 and 1794. In 1851, people of Fort Recovery discovered the bones of fallen soldiers buried along the banks of the Wabash, and on September 10, 1851, the interment of their remains 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. On 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 located in a crypt in the foundation of the monument.