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The archeological remains of a 19th century hospital and cemetery have been found on a submerged island near Garden Key, the second-largest island in the Dry Tortugas National Park near Key West, Florida. The hospital served as a 19th century quarantine and cemetery for yellow fever patients between 1890 and 1900, according to the National Parks Service. Historical records indicate that dozens of people, mostly U.S. soldiers stationed at Fort Jefferson, may have been buried at the cemetery, according to the NPS. Dozens of people were interred in the Fort Jefferson Post Cemetery -- most of them were military members...

Archeologists have found the remains of a 19th century quarantine hospital and cemetery on a submerged island in Florida's Dry Tortugas National Park in the Gulf of Mexico. While only one grave has been identified, historical records indicate dozens of people — mostly U.S. soldiers stationed at Fort Jefferson — may have been buried at the site in waters west of Key West, Florida, park officials said in a news release Monday. A group that included park cultural resources staff, the National Park Service’s Submerged Resources Center, the Southeast Archeological Center, and a University of Miami graduate student, made the...

On a remote island hours away from Key West lies the largest masonry structure in the Americas: Fort Jefferson. Built with 16 million bricks, but never finished, the fort served as a prison during Civil War. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, upon visiting the island, named it a National Monument, and in 1992 it became part of Dry Tortugas National Park. Besides serving as a safe haven for the most preserved coral reef in the United States, the set of islands that comprise the national park also protect countless marine animals and bird species. However, the true treasure of...