One Million Buried In Mass Graves On Forbidden New York Island

[Purveyor]

By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, April 8, 2014 16:22 EDT

Most New Yorkers don’t even know it exists. But a million forgotten souls are buried in mass graves dug by convicts on a tiny, forbidden island east of the Bronx.

Since 1869, still-born babies, the homeless, the poor and the unclaimed have been stacked one upon the other, three coffins deep, on Hart Island.

Corpses are interned in great, anonymous trenches. There are no tombstones. Small white posts in the ground mark each 150 adult bodies. A thousand children and infants are buried together per grave.

--CLIP
Nearly 1,500 fresh corpses arrive each year, says visual artist Melinda Hunt, who heads the Hart Island Project, which campaigns to make the cemetery visible and accessible.

The authorities say nearly a million people have been buried here since 1869.

It is forbidden to film and photograph the uninhabited, windswept island. Visits must be authorized by the Department of Corrections, which runs the island.

MORE...

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/04/08/one-million-buried-in-mass-graves-on-forbidden-new-york-island/

[warrprayer]

1. truly spooky

and sad

[Ron Green]

2. Wait a minute... 145 years times 1500 corpses

doesn't equal a million.

[IronLionZion]

3. i think they got more long ago

1500 a year is the present rate, I think.

[Samantha]

4. It has been said there are more people buried under New York

than there are living above ground. I believe that just might be true. It is an eerie thought.

Sam

[LiberalElite]

8. Well, it's been around since the 17th century so...

BTW, The Borough of Queens (a/k/a Queens County) is a virtual Cemetery Central.

http://queens.about.com/od/Cemeteries/tp/Cemeteries-in-Queens.htm

(scroll down past the various ads for the full list)

[WillyT]

5. Well... It's Been Photographed... Never Heard Of This Place... Shocking And Sad...

Link: http://tinyurl.com/muxmqvp

[LiberalElite]

9. I suspect

I have a long-lost uncle buried there.

[WillyT]

14. I'm Sorry For Your Loss... I Suppose There Are Potter's Graves All Over The Planet...

A potter's field or common grave is a term for a place for the burial of unknown or indigent people. The expression derives from the Bible, referring to a field used for the extraction of potter's clay; such land, useless for agriculture, could be used as a burial site.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potter's_field

[LiberalElite]

15. Thank you - he

was a WWII vet (Battle of the Bulge) and I suspect he had PTSD but it wasn't called that back then. After the war he joined the NYFD and got married and then things fell apart. He went AWOL from the NYFD, became a dishwasher. He'd show up unexpectedly from time to time (we lived in NYC). Last we heard from him was 50 years ago and I don't think he would have died "out of town". Sad.

[WillyT]

17. Damn...

[LiberalElite]

18. Yeah - so much for fighting in a "good war" nt

[LiberalElite]

20. I think someone here in NYC

is trying to get Hart Island opened up so people can visit. If that happens I'm going to try to find Uncle Bob.

[WillyT]

21. From My Link Above About Photographs...

Looks like someone kept records.

And there's this: http://hartisland.net/

You might want to contact them...

[LiberalElite]

22. Thanks -

I will.

[WillyT]

23. Good Luck !!!

[MFM008]

6. interesting

Sad as well. Island of the lost.

[kwassa]

7. burying the caskets of babies ...

[rudolph the red]

10. I first read about the island in a Douglas Preston/Lincoln Child novel

I couldn't believe that it actually existed, much less that it is still in use today. While researching their novel, Douglas Preston and his wife made an unauthorized landing and tour of the island and ended up getting caught. He tells the story and includes some photos at their website, it's pretty exciting.

http://www.prestonchild.com/books/gideonssword/hartisland/What-Is-Buried-on-Hart-Island;art321,363

[toby jo]

11. Cremation might be a good turn, easier on everybody.

Then they could create a memorial park.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

12. "It is forbidden to film and photograph the uninhabited, windswept island."

A major producer of Soylent Green.

[defacto7]

13. Well, I certainly am glad

that island is cared for by a group that is as thoughtful and trustworthy as the Department of Corrections. If they say no cameras or entrance allowed without their permission it must be for good reason.

not

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

27. Do you think anyone should just be allowed out there?

I can only imagine what would happen if a few idiot "ghost hunters" showed up.

[defacto7]

29. Nah...

It was a comment about my "faith" in the Department of Corrections.

Massive sarcasm.

[lonestarnot]

28. So fucking not.

[JaneyVee]

16. Most New Yorkers know about this gruesome site.

Half of those buried on Hart Island are under age 5. You can see the island from Bronx and Queens.

[Jesus Malverde]

19. That is some creepy stuff...

It is forbidden to film and photograph the uninhabited, windswept island.

Some things need the light of Day.

[aikoaiko]

24. if there ever was a place in need of a crematorium...

...this is it.

[markpkessinger]

30. Two problems with that . . . .

(1) Some folks have religious objections to cremation; and

(2) According to the Wikipedia entry for Hart Island, it is not uncommon for bodies that have been buried on Hart Island to be later identified by loved ones from medical examiner photos, and then to be disinterred and disposed of according to the wishes of the loved ones. Cremation would eliminate that possibility.

[XemaSab]

25. There's a potters field out near the Salton Sea

for "illegal" immigrants.

I stumbled across it accidentally.

Very depressing.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

26. I think most New Yorkers do know it exists.

Most think it is actually called "Potter's Island" though.