Simon Girty U.E.
1741 - 1818
Girty's life crossed cultural boundaries between native and white societies on the frontier of American settlement. In 1756 his family was captured by a French-led native war party in Pennsylvania. Simon was adopted by the Seneca, then repatriated in 1764. An interpreter at Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh), he became an intermediary with native nations. In 1778, dismayed over rebel policy on the natives, Girty fled to Detroit. During the Revolutionary War and subsequent conflicts in the Ohio Valley, he was employed by the British Indian Department while serving Native Nations as a negotiator, scout and military leader. Angry at his defection and fearful of his influence, Americans made Girty a scapegoat for frontier atrocities. He is buried here on his homestead.
Marker is on Front Street South (Ontario Route 20) south of Bingham Road, on the left when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
