Every week, bodies that have been unclaimed and unidentified are taken by ferry to a potter's field on Hart Island, off the coast of the Bronx in New York City. It is there they are laid to rest under unmarked gravestones, leaving no information about the deceased.
With over one million bodies, Hart Island is the largest mass graveyard in the United States. 1,000 new unidentified coffins are buried there each year, according to Reuters.
Getting access to the cemetery is challenging, and photography and videography of any kind is prohibited. Recently, the city provided a rare photo opportunity to Reuters photographer Mike Segar — see his photos below.
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New York City bought Hart Island in 1868.
It was turned into a cemetery in 1869. A prison on the island housed Confederate soldiers at the time.
Dilapidated buildings are reminders of the failed institutions that have been on the island at different times, including a halfway house, sanitarium, military camp, and missile base.
Source: New York Times
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