A 19th-century hospital and cemetery have been discovered in Florida's Dry Tortugas National Park.
According to CBS News, the findings are the result of a survey of the 100-square-mile area conducted in August by park cultural resources staff, members of the National Park Service's Submerged Resources Centre, the Southeast Archaeological Centre, and a University of Miami graduate student.
According to a news release issued by the National Park Service on Monday, the cemetery has been identified as the Fort Jefferson Post Cemetery, where John Greer worked as a labourer until his death on Nov. 5, 1861.
According to the National Park Service, while historical documents show that US soldiers stationed at Fort Jefferson may have been buried at the cemetery, the region was also populated by military employees, engineers, support staff, prisoners, and their families.
"Major outbreaks of disease on the island exacted a heavy toll on those staying there, killing dozens throughout the 1860s and 1870s," according to the announcement, which also mentions that the modest quarantine facility discovered handled yellow fever victims.
According to Josh Marano, the maritime archaeologist for the South Florida national parks and the survey's project director, the discovery "highlights the potential for untold stories" because the area was also used as a naval coaling outpost, naval hospital, lighthouse station, and quarantine facility.
"Although much of Fort Jefferson's history focuses on the fortification itself and some of its infamous prisoners, we are actively working to tell the stories of the enslaved people, women, children, and civilian labourers," Marano explained.
