Marine Hospital Quarantine Cemetery
Beginning in the 18th century, passengers arriving in New York Harbor were screened for contagious diseases, and sick individuals were isolated in quarantine stations. In 1799, the NY State Legislature relocated the quarantine station from Bedloe's Island (Liberty Island) to Tompkinsville on the northeast tip of Staten Island.
19th century increases in immigration as well as concerns about blight and infection led to increasing community opposition to the location of the station. A new structure at Seguine's Point was burned by local residents in 1857 and the station at Tompkinsville was burned in 1858. Floating hospitals were used as stations until the artificial Swinburne Island and Hoffman Island were constructed off the southwestern shore Staten Island for use as quarantine stations, a task they served until the 1920s.
This site across from the St. George Theatre was part of the northern cemetery used for people who died in the Tompkinsville quarantine hospital. The site had been used as a parking lot from the 1950s until preparation for construction of a new court complex in 2003 led to discovery of human remains. The remains of 83 patients were recovered from the southern portion of the one-acre lot, and reinterred in this memorial green on the northern part of the lot, which was landscaped, but otherwise left undisturbed.
Marine Hospital Quarantine Cemetery
In memory of the innocent victims of the Irish Hunger 1845 - 1851
Marine Hospital Quarantine Cemetery