‘BURIED’

19th-Century Cemetery Discovered Underwater in Florida

The archeological find includes a gravestone and a quarantine hospital.

The archeological remains of a 19th-century quarantine hospital and cemetery, including a gravestone, have been discovered on a submerged island near Garden Key in Florida’s Dry Tortugas National Park. Just one grave has been identified from the cemetery, which has since been identified as the Fort Jefferson Post Cemetery, but according to a statement from the National Parks Service, historical records “indicate that dozens of people, mostly U.S. soldiers stationed at Fort Jefferson, may have been buried there.” John Greer, whose gravestone was discovered in the search, worked as a laborer at the fort until his death on Nov. 5, 1861. Most of those buried in the cemetery were members of the military, but some, including Greer, were civilians. The quarantine hospital, built after major outbreaks of the mosquito-borne yellow fever, was used for only 10 years between 1890 and 1900. “This intriguing find highlights the potential for untold stories in Dry Tortugas National Park, both above and below the water,” said Josh Marano, maritime archeologist for the south Florida national parks and project director for the survey.