North Meadow
2024 - 2036
North Meadow
The North Meadow of Hart Island has been used for burials since 1869. In 1872, New York City began using a system of mass burials, similar to those from the American Civil War. Burials in this area consist of 150 people per numbered plot, with each box's position recorded in a burial ledger.
Starting in 1931, the city began reusing plots after 25-50 years, once bodies had fully decomposed to skeletal remains. Most of the estimated 750,000 burials that took place here between 1869 and 2003 are now unmarked. Adult burials were moved to the Southern Plain in 1989.
The oldest intact graves on Hart Island are located in the North Meadow, making it the ideal starting point for the new burial strategy. This new approach involves conducting individual burials one foot above the existing mass graves, without disturbing them. Burials would be performed as needed, once or twice a week, using the method shown in the provided illustration.
The Burial Process
Graves are closed at the end of each day of burials
Each grave is closed on the same day after the caskets have been placed and documented with GPS. A thin layer of sand is laid over and between the boxes. This sand layer serves two purposes: it helps future crews easily identify the level of the caskets if an exhumation is necessary, and it ensures a more even rate of soil subsidence across the plot.
The excavated soil is then placed back on top of the sand layer, creating a mound that is typically about two feet tall. This process ensures that all soil removed during excavation remains on site and provides the three feet of soil cover required by state law.
Landscape of Hope
This project was conducted in collaboration with landscape architecture researchers at The Ohio State University Knowlton School and was made possible with support of the Lily Auchicloss Foundation and through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Landscape Design Team Members: Jake Boswell, Jack Gruber, Brendan Ayer and Melinda Hunt
©2025 The Hart Island Project
