Centreville, Michigan Cemetery Is Home to Lonely Grave For ‘Unknown Boy Killed at Wasepi’

Cemeteries are full of stories of lives lived. At Prarie River Cemetery in Centreville, Michigan a grave for an 'unknown boy' tells of a life cut short.

The small stone marker reads simply Unknown Boy Killed at Wasepi and gives a death date of April 9, 1916.

Wasepi is a small settlement, once a railroad stop in central St Joseph County.

A photo of the grave (the image above is a stock image and not the actual grave marker) was shared to the Abandoned, Old and Interesting Places in Michigan Facebook group with the poster wondering of anyone knew the history of the incident at Wasepi.

Incredibly someone did turn up a death certificate for the boy. He was believed to be a drifter and riding the rails. He was aged 15-17 at the time of his death. The certificate reveals a horrific end to his life stating

Evidently fell from a moving freight train on which he was stealing a ride after having been crushed between bumpers.

The train originated from Chicago and that's where investigators at the time placed his city of birth.

Commentors on the posting were quick to note that there was a family somewhere that never knew what happened to this lost boy

Sad that if he had family, they would never know what became of him. Where was he going? Was he looking for work? Was he trying to get home to family? I am glad that someone, or the community gave him a marker.

Find a Grave has a listing for the Unknown Boy here.

The boy, likely born in 1900, may very well have been christened with one of these very popular Biblical names: