Famous people's places / Pontiac

Oak Hill Cemetery

Pontiac's historic city cemetery, opened in 1839, where blues musician Lightnin' Slim was buried and a state marker honors Michigan pioneer Lisette Denison Forth.

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Oak Hill Cemetery has served Pontiac since 1839, making it one of Oakland County's oldest burial grounds, its rolling lawns holding generations of the city's residents. Blues guitarist and singer Lightnin' Slim, born Otis Hicks in Louisiana, settled in Michigan late in his career and was buried here in 1974 after finally finding wider fame through the American folk-blues revival. Part of the cemetery's land traces back to Lisette Denison Forth, a formerly enslaved woman who became one of the first Black landowners in Pontiac when she bought lots here in 1825; a state historical marker on the grounds today commemorates her. Oak Hill remains an active cemetery run by the city of Pontiac.

Opened 1839, one of Oakland County's oldest cemeteries
Blues musician Lightnin' Slim was buried here in 1974
Land tied to Lisette Denison Forth's 1825 purchase, Pontiac's first Black landowner
Marked with a Michigan state historical marker

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Famous people tied to this place 2

Lexicon entries for the people who lived, worked, performed or liked to spend time here.

Lightnin' Slim 1913–1974 · blues singer, guitarist
Buried here
Pontiac's historic city cemetery, where Lightnin' Slim was buried in 1974.
Lisette Denison Forth 1786–1866 · formerly enslaved landowner and philanthropist
Memorial
Her 1825 Pontiac lots now form part of this cemetery, where a state historical marker commemorates Pontiac's first Black landowner.

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Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25

An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.