Israel and Avis Blodgett House
A historic site in Downers Grove, Illinois, a National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom listing, Israel and Avis Blodgett House is filed here for what the record attaches to it. NPS-listed historic site associated with the Underground Railroad. HauntHunt files it with 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.
NPS public listing access field: Yes. This is a listing snapshot; current arrangements still require confirmation.
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Is Israel and Avis Blodgett House 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
Blodgett is the smith — the 'Harpers Ferry Armory' that's the '1810s, the 'advised slaves how' that's the lost his job for. The '1846' is the built — the 'Downers Grove' that's the 20 miles from Chicago, the 'Philo Carpenter' that's the next stop. The 'refused' is the Avis — the 'no water' that's the slave catcher's visit, the 'two captured' that's the in his wagon.
The 'children' is the testified — the 'three kids' that's the first-hand accounts, the 'daughter-in-law' that's the fourth. The 'Western Citizen' is the wall — the 'fragments' that's the behind the plaster, the 'Liberty Party' that's the documented. Blodgett is the verified — the '2023' that's the Network listed, the 'only house' that's the Downers Grove's.
The file keeps Blodgett: the armory firing, the night runs to Carpenter, Avis's refused water, and the newspaper walls.
Blodgett House is the archive's Illinois file — the smith who armed escapes.
Why this file matters
Blodgett House is the archive's Illinois file — the blacksmith's second forge.
A house keeps its walls — the file's suggestion being that Blodgett's hold is the documented: the 'children's accounts' that's the testified decades later, the 'refused water' that's the Avis's own defiance, and the 'newspaper plaster' that's the sealed the evidence in.
Two accounts on file
NPS-listed historic site associated with the Underground Railroad.
The Blodgett house—the family’s station.
Preserve both source-backed variants; no automatic overwrite.
National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom listing
NPS Network to Freedom
Preserve both source-backed variants; no automatic overwrite.
Government-registry discovery record, unique ID 45IL01, source row 701. 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.
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. This belongs to the verified spine of the entry, the layer everything else is measured against. 'Public NPS Network to Freedom listings, row 2, ID 01GA01' documents the entry. It's the sort of fact that gives the haunting reports their context.
Verified historyNational Park ServiceIsrael and Avis Blodgett House 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. Sources including 'NPS Network to Freedom listing' carry the record. The date is part of the site's documented spine.
Verified historyNational Park ServiceThe house’s UGRR role is documented. Israel and Avis Blodgett House'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 detail is preserved in 'NPS Network to Freedom listing'. The date is part of the site's documented spine.
Verified historyNational Park Service
Sources on file
- 01Public NPS Network to Freedom listings, row 2, ID 01GA01National Park Service · government · A1
- 02NPS Network to Freedom listingNational Park Service · government · A1
- 03Underground RailroadWikipedia · encyclopedia · A4
Field notes & open questions
Government-registry discovery record, unique ID 45IL01, source row 701. 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.