Several Indigenous leaders have mentioned in their memoirs that they spent time at the Stone Shop during the War of 1812, sleeping in front of the fireplace. These include John Norton, who was a Mohawk Chief, and John Smoke Johnson, who was a Mohawk Warrior. During the American occupation of Grimsby, both John Norton and Smoke Johnson were camped behind the Stone Shop on the escarpment with about two dozen Warriors. They would come down at night and inflict many casualties on the American Forces and then retreat back up into the dense forest of the escarpment. This instilled fear in the American Forces and they soon left for the Battle of Stoney Creek. Smoke Johnson is included (sitting on the right) in a picture taken in Brantford in 1882 at the age of 89, along with two other Six Nation Warriors. They were the last three surviving Warriors from the War of 1812. They both visited Nelles Manor and the Stone Shop.
