At its peak, there were approximately 500 settlers residing in the Dawn settlement.[6] However, a number of settlers began to return to the United States following the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862.[2] During the American Civil War, Henson supported families in the settlement whose male members returned to the United States to fight in the civil war.[3] The settlement went into decline after the British-American Institute was closed in 1868, and the remaining settlers moved to other communities within Ontario.[4] However, Henson remained at the settlement, passing away in 1883; buried near his home.[2] Henson's funeral remains one of Dresden's largest funerals held in the community, with businesses closed for the day, and a 3.2 kilometres (2 mi) procession to the gravesite having formed.[5] Following Henson's death, his spouse sold the homestead and moved to Michigan.[7]