North Bluff

The northern bluff of Hart Island was once the site of Civil War-era Union Army barracks. Erected in 1864, these barracks were used to train United States Colored Troops and, later in the war, served as a prison camp for Confederate soldiers. The wooden buildings were removed in the early 20th century, and the land was converted into farmland to grow food for the institutions on the southern end of the island.

As the nearby North Meadow filled up, the city began using the northern bluff for burials in the late 1920s, a practice documented in letters within the Municipal Archives' burial ledgers. To continue using the land for farming, the city started reusing gravesites in 1931. Burials on the bluff didn't resume until the 1950s when the U.S. Army used the area for three Nike Missile launch pads. A Peace Monument was also erected here in 1948. Burials in this area continued off and on until 1984.