Department of Parks
Butler Cemetery Restoration Project To Be Honored June 28

CARROLLTON, Ky. – A ceremony honoring the restoration of the Butler Family Cemetery will be held Thursday, June 28, at 1:30 p.m.

The cemetery, near the Butler-Turpin State Historic House at General Butler State Resort Park in Carrollton, was restored in 2006 with a Cemetery Preservation Grant through the Governor’s Office for Local Development and funds from the Department of Parks.

Members of the Butler family were officers in the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, War with Mexico and Civil War. General Percival Pierce Butler was with Washington at Valley Forge and became the first Adjutant General of Kentucky.

The restoration included the repairs and cleaning of headstones, cleaning and repairing a stone wall built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and landscaping inside the cemetery.

The Friends of Butler, a private organization that supports the park, provided funds for a bronze marker for the grave of General William Orlando Butler, a son of Percival Butler and the park’s namesake.

“I’d like to thank the Friends of Butler organization for its support and Evelyn Welch, the Butler-Turpin manager, for her work to help fund this restoration project,” said Commerce Secretary George Ward. “Preserving historic properties is important to our parks and we appreciate the help we receive from our community and corporate partners.”

The cemetery is located near the Butler-Turpin Historic House, built in 1859. It is now a museum with many military documents, pieces of furniture and objects from the family steeped in military history.

William Orlando Butler served with General Andrew Jackson during the War of 1812, was in the Kentucky General Assembly, was a member of Congress and was commander-in-chief of the American forces near the end of the war with Mexico. He also ran unsuccessfully for governor and vice president.

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The Kentucky State Park System is composed of 53 state parks plus an interstate park shared with Virginia. The Department of Parks, an agency of the Commerce Cabinet, operates 17 resort parks with lodges -- more than any other state. Each year, Kentucky parks draw 7 million visitors and contribute $317 million to the economy. For more information on Kentucky parks, visit our Web site at http://www.parks.ky.gov