William E. Thompson, Dr., Boyhood House
A historic site in Oberlin, Ohio, an NPS Network to Freedom, William E. Thompson, Dr., Boyhood House is filed here for what the record attaches to it. The doctor’s boyhood home—where the future conductor grew up. The archive files it under Underground Railroad history, the Underground Railroad and African American history. The dossier holds 2 documented facts — a documented spine with no haunting reports attached. The site is open to visitors.
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Is William E. Thompson, Dr., Boyhood 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
Thompson's boyhood home is the bloodhound — the 'crack shot' that's the muzzle-loader aimed, the 'shot their dogs' that's the posses' trackers killed. The '104 years' is the lived — the '1939 radio' that's the WLW interviewed, the 'voted twice for Lincoln' that's the memory kept. The 'teen conductor' is the started — the 'Bethel to Elklick' that's the route he walked, the 'family's brick' that's the safehouse raised in.
The 'eight decades' is the practiced — the 'country doctor' that's the Bethel served, the 'sworn statement' that's the 1930 notarized. The 'Plane Street' is the continued — the 'adult home' that's the refugees received, the 'boyhood then office' that's the lifelong station. Thompson is the longest — the 'living conductor' that's the century reached, the 'radio voice' that's the stories broadcast.
The file keeps Thompson: the bloodhounds shot, the century lived, the teen's route, and the notarized memory.
Thompson's boyhood home is the archive's Ohio file — the conductor who lived to tell.
The record slug says Oberlin, but the boyhood home stands at 137 Main St., Bethel, Clermont County — geography corrected.
Why this file matters
Thompson's boyhood home is the archive's Ohio file — the conductor who outlived the century.
A house keeps its witness — the file's suggestion being that Thompson's hold is the remembered: the 'sworn at 95' that's the affidavit signed, the 'shot the bloodhounds' that's the rifle's use, and the '104 years' that's the memory's span.
Documented history
NPS includes this site in the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. William E. Thompson, Dr., Boyhood 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 record appears in 'Public NPS Network to Freedom listings, row 2, ID 01GA01'. The record keeps it — history, not lore.
Verified historyNational Park ServiceWilliam E. Thompson, Dr., Boyhood House is documented on the National Park Service Network to Freedom for its role in the Underground Railroad. A documented site gives the file real substance; this entry is part of that record. 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'. 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
UGRR enrichment wave 1; VERIFY task auto-queued.