THE CLAYTON CEMETERY

The Clayton Cemetery is located on what was once a part of the Godfroy reserve in present day Butler township in Miami County Indiana. It is located about seven and a half miles south east of Peru Indiana off Indiana 124 on south county road 625 East.

The cemetery is named for James Clayton who, along with his brother was one of the first Americans to settle in Butler township. Clayton settled on the north bank of the Mississinewa River and had chosen the present cemetery land as the spot to create a cemetery for him and his family.  The first to be buried there was James’ one-and-a-half-year-old son Benjamin on April 20, 1847. James himself would pass away and be buried in the cemetery less than a year later in February 29, 1848. Before his passing, Clayton donated to the Miami of Indiana the cemetery land that had once belonged to Pimyotahmah.

Today the land around the cemetery is held in private hands and has houses on it. An easement had to be granted to the tribe for there to be a public access.  Currently the entrance is not marked well and can be hard to find because it sits off the road some and has no signage to indicate where the entrance to the cemetery is. Much of the ground today is in moderately forested area which helps to further hide the cemetery from the road.

Please Help Us Honor Our Ancestors, The Original Inhabitants Of Indiana!

Many of the head stones are worn and broken and some graves go unmarked. Since the Tribe had its federal recognition illegally taken in 1898, we do not qualify to receive support and grants that federally recognized tribes do. Won’t you please consider  a donation to help the Miami of Indiana preserve the memories of some of Indiana’s original inhabitants and help us honor our ancestors?