Save The Headstones

Like any historic cemetery, Oak Hill has monuments or gravesites in need of restoration.

The Save The Headstones project lets you contribute to our efforts to repair or restore specific headstones, gravesites or lots in the cemetery.

With your help, we can memorialize the people buried here by bringing their monuments back to good shape and by telling their stories.

These monuments are in the historic sections of the cemetery, and are people from all walks of life. They are in various states of disrepair from small projects (such as re-standing a fallen stone into its socket) all the way to replacing a missing headstone.

A Before and After:

Corporal Tenadore Miller, 8th Michigan Infantry (1844-1864). His monument was restored in 2025 after being adopted by Kevin Ballant.

Work on these stones will begin in the spring of 2026, with a goal of completing repairs by the fall, although scheduling may push repairs into 2027 or even further.

When you adopt a monument, you’ll be asked to make a one-time donation of any amount toward that repair. We ask that you donate the amount listed, but any amount will be accepted. Any funds remaining after the repair is completed will be used on other restoration projects. Work will not begin on a monument until it is fully adopted.

When a monument is adopted, we will prepare a brief story about the life or lives of the people you’ve memorialized, and

When the repair is complete we will send you photographs of before and after the repair and a brief history of the person or people you’ve memorialized. And we’ll acknowledge your contribution in our Gazette and at our annual cemetery walk.

There are also several lots – a group of gravesites related to a family – that need repair. The costs for these are naturally higher than for individual monuments. They’re an excellent opportunity to memorialize ancestors or people of like interests.

Contact Us

If you have questions or want to know more, please contact us!

Make A Donation

If you’re not interested in adopting a specific monument, you can still donate to support this project and the cemetery in general.

Printable Adoption Form

If you like, you can print this form and pay by check, credit card or otherwise in-person method instead.

The List

Click a name below to view details on each adoption. Should you choose to adopt one of these headstones, you can use the link below to see information about each, and you can donate via Paypal within each listing. It will be processed through our online store.

Name	Cost	Comments
Adam Vrooman West, Lot 1-027-1	Adopted	1824-1892 Possibly served in the Civil War.
Reverend Joseph Frey, Lot 1-076-4	$425.00	1811-1887 Prominent early Christian missionary.
Eunice Bromley McCracken, Lot 1-141-4	Adopted
John H. McCracken, Lot 1-141-5	$382.50
Walter Ash, Lot 4-192-2	$382.50	Walter, aged about 4 months, is the son of Jonathan Ash, whose monument was repaired in the summer of 2026.
Judah and Mary Colby Church, Lot 4-315-5 and 6	Adopted

Repaired Monuments, or Monuments Scheduled for Repair

Before Repair	Name	After Repair	Comments
	Maria Brainard, Lot 1-027-2		1814-1885 Nurse matron in the Civil War. Repaired in 2026.
	Captain William Albertson, Lot 1-076-6		Served in the Civil War. Repaired in Summer, 2026.
	John Carter, Lot 2-1-156		Formerly enslaved. Repaired in Summer, 2026. Repair sponsored by Dave Carter Cemetery Preservation, Inc.
	Robert “Old Bob” McCracken, Lot 1-141-3
	Richard Hunt Whitehead, Lot 1-169-4	Adopted	Served in the Civil War.
	Almeron and Mary Ann Whitehead, Lot 1-169-5 and 6	Adopted	Prominent early Waterford businessman.
	Henry Scott, Lot 1-200-2		Formerly enslaved. Five month old son of Martha and Harvey Scott. Repaired in Summer, 2026. Repair sponsored by Dave Carter Cemetery Preservation, Inc.
	Laura Talbot Dwight, Lot 4-020-1		Half sister to Evelina Drake. Repaired in Summer, 2026.
	Evelina Drake, Lot 4-020-4		Wife of Thomas J Drake. Repaired in Summer, 2026.
	Judge Thomas J. Drake, Lot 4-020-5		Prominent early Oakland County lawyer and politician. Served on the Utah Supreme Court and as Michigan’s third lieutenant governor. Repaired in Summer, 2026.
	The Drake Lot – Lot 4-020		All monuments on the lot repaired in Summer, 2026.
	Jonathan Ash, Lot 4-192-3		Served in the 4th Michigan during the Civil War. Discharged in 1866 due to disability. Repaired in Summer, 2026.
	Nancy Bagley, Lot 4-204-1		Repaired in Summer, 2026.
	Elvira Bagley Mann, Lot 4-204-4		Repaired in Summer, 2026.
	Judge Amasa Bagley, Lot 4-204-2		Prominent early Bloomfield settler and associate judge in Oakland County. Repaired in Summer, 2026.
	James Carpenter, Lot 4-204-6		Half brother of Amasa Bagley. Repaired in Summer, 2026.
	Bagley Lot, Block 4, lot 204		Repaired in Summer, 2026.
	Clarissa Bronson, Lot 4-355-1	Adopted
	Luman Bronson, Lot 4-355-4		Repaired in Summer, 2026.
	Eliza Collier, Lot 4-370-2		Repaired in Summer, 2026.
	Isadore Collier, Lot 4-370-5		Repaired in Summer, 2026.
	Jennie Collier, Lot 4-370-6		Repaired in Summer, 2026.
	Emma Leggett, Lot 4-447-5		Repaired in Summer, 2026.
	Percival Leggett, Lot 4-447		Served in the Civil War. Repaired in Summer, 2026.
	Katy Darling Leggett – Part of the Leggett Lot and a former mystery stone.		Repaired in Summer, 2026.
	The Leggett Lot		Repaired in Summer, 2026.

Repaired in Summer 2026 – Monuments repaired by special request
	Abel Walker, Lot 4-189-3	Repaired in Summer, 2026. Repair sponsored by McLaren Oakland Hospital.
	Dr. John Donaldson, Lot 1-047-2	Repaired in Summer, 2026. Repair sponsored by McLaren Oakland Hospital.
	Dr. William Thompson, Lot 1-217-4	Prominent early Oakland County settler, doctor and judge. Repair sponsored by McLaren Oakland Hospital.