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In the 19th and early 20th
centuries, North Brother Island was home to hospitals which housed patients
with the worst contagious diseases, most notably tuberculosis, typhoid fever
and smallpox. For 26 years, Typhoid Mary was quarantined there. When these
diseases were controlled, the island was used to house drug-addicted youth.
This program ended in 1950, and the island was abandoned. Today it has
evolved into a bird sanctuary with many vine-covered ruins.
On June 15, 1904, the
General Slocum steamboat burned, killing over 1,000 mostly women and
children. The boat was grounded near North Brother Island. The island was
used to collect bodies for transport to the morgue.
South Brother Island has never
been developed, and is privately owned.
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