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Dossier 0855Historic SiteMedium 62

Isaac Bailey Burial Site at Oakhill Cemetery

Grand Rapids, MichiganCorner of Hall and Eastern SE1 min readFile amended Directions

A historic site in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom listing, Isaac Bailey Burial Site at Oakhill Cemetery is filed here for what the record attaches to it. NPS-listed historic site associated with the Underground Railroad. The archive files it under dark history, Underground Railroad history and the Underground Railroad. The dossier holds 3 documented facts — a documented spine with no haunting reports attached. The site is open to visitors.

Archive note: 4 conflicting records
Status
Operating
Designation
National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom listing
Coordinates
42.961, -85.656 · Approximate (city centroid)
County
Kent

NPS public listing access field: Yes. This is a listing snapshot; current arrangements still require confirmation.

Is Isaac Bailey Burial Site at Oakhill Cemetery haunted?

No claims are filed here — the record keeps this place for its documented history, not for a haunting on file.

The record — long form

Bailey is the 105 — the '1816 Virginia' that's the born enslaved, the 'overseer's abuse' that's the fought back then fled. The '1852' is the Canada — the 'sailor' that's the odd jobs free, the 'first New York Cavalry' that's the horse keeper. The '102nd' is the fought — the 'Colored Infantry' that's the '63 joined, the 'came back' that's the to free others.

The 'Grand Rapids' is the settled — the 'six children' that's the raised, the '1921' that's the century-plus life. The 'Oakhill' is the plot — the 'North Cemetery Lot 1' that's the far northeast, the 'Freedom Trail' that's the mapped '21. Bailey is the three acts — the 'escaped, soldiered, outlived' that's the arc, the 'overseer' that's the started it.

The file keeps Bailey: the overseer's spark, the Canada sailor, the 102nd, and the 105 years.

Isaac Bailey is the archive's Michigan file — the century of freedom.

Why this file matters

Isaac Bailey's grave is the archive's Michigan file — the man who outlived slavery by 56 years.

A grave keeps its century — the file's suggestion being that Bailey's hold is the survived: the 'fought the overseer' that's the first strike, the '102nd' that's the fought for others, and the '105' that's the buried in the century he outlived.

Two accounts on file

Place Type
On file

HISTORIC_SITE

Also reported

CEMETERY

Preserve both source-backed variants; no automatic overwrite.

Short Description
On file

NPS-listed historic site associated with the Underground Railroad.

Also reported

The conductor’s grave—where Bailey rests.

Preserve both source-backed variants; no automatic overwrite.

Historic Designation
On file

National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom listing

Also reported

NPS Network to Freedom

Preserve both source-backed variants; no automatic overwrite.

Research Notes
On file

Government-registry discovery record, unique ID 17MI01, source row 351. Inclusion concerns slavery, freedom-seeking and resistance history; no haunting is inferred. City, coordinates and detailed history are not inferred from the name. The source Year Established field is not treated as year built/opened.

Also reported

UGRR enrichment wave 3; VERIFY task auto-queued.

Preserve both source-backed variants; no automatic overwrite.

Documented history

  • NPS includes this site in the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. The site's documented history is the record the rest of the file stands on. The record holds it as fact — documented, not retold. The detail is preserved in 'Public NPS Network to Freedom listings, row 2, ID 01GA01'. The date is part of the site's documented spine.

    Verified historyNational Park Service
  • Isaac Bailey Burial Site at Oakhill Cemetery is documented on the National Park Service Network to Freedom for its role in the Underground Railroad. The site's documented history is the record the rest of the file stands on. This belongs to the verified spine of the entry, the layer everything else is measured against. The detail is preserved in 'NPS Network to Freedom listing'. It is the kind of fact the rest of the dossier leans on.

    Verified historyNational Park Service
  • Bailey’s work is documented. Isaac Bailey Burial Site at Oakhill Cemetery's past is on record — the entry belongs to the verified layer the museum itself interprets. The record holds it as fact — documented, not retold. The record appears in 'NPS Network to Freedom listing'. The entry's timeline holds it; the lore holds the rest.

    Verified historyNational Park Service

Sources on file

Field notes & open questions

Government-registry discovery record, unique ID 17MI01, source row 351. Inclusion concerns slavery, freedom-seeking and resistance history; no haunting is inferred. City, coordinates and detailed history are not inferred from the name. The source Year Established field is not treated as year built/opened.

"Isaac Bailey Burial Site at Oakhill Cemetery." HauntHunt dossier 0855, https://haunthunt.com/place/isaac-bailey-burial-site-at-oakhill-cemetery-michigan/ (file amended October 2, 2026).

Within ~50 miles

End of file · continue the hunt
Allegan Old Jail Museum
31 mi away
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