North Brother Island is a 13-acre piece of land located in the East River, a couple of miles away from Manhattan, New York. This island bears the remains of its fascinating, yet tragic history.
North Brother was first inhabited when Riverside Hospital was relocated to the island. The purpose of the hospital was to treat and isolate the sufferers of contagious diseases. The very first residents of the island were victims of illnesses such as smallpox, tuberculosis, yellow fever, and typhus. The most notorious resident was, of course, Mary Mallon, better known as Typhoid Mary. Mary was the first documented person in the USA to be identified as an asymptomatic carrier of the bacteria that causes typhoid fever. The woman, who is believed to have infected more than 50 people, 3 of whom died, always denied being a carrier. She was forcefully incarcerated in the island’s hospital for nearly three decades until she died. Even though the woman spent her last days thinking she was innocent, it was proven that Mary’s delicious desserts took part in spreading the disease, find out more in the video.

Another incident related to the island claimed a lot more lives than poor Mary. In 1904 residents of an island witnessed the deaths of more than 1,000 people. Watch the video below to learn more about the mysterious history left behind on this tragic place. Don’t forget to subscribe to Bored Panda YouTube channel.

North Brother Island was home to many tragedies, as well as haunting stories

From the fate of Typhoid Mary, who killed 3 people with her desserts, to a tragedy that took a 1000 lives…

The island has a haunting history that is explained in the video below

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