10,000 to 20,000 Years Ago

The Wisconsin glacier deposited the material that became North Brother Island.

Native Americans may have visited the island but likely did not dwell there, as North Brother Island contains no fresh water source.

1614

Dutch navigator Adriaen Block named North Brother and its smaller neighbor to the south “duo de Gesellen” (the two “wayfarers” or “brethren”).

1780

Sinking of the British frigate Hussar in treacherous Hell Gate. The ship was rumored to be carrying gold coins for the British army’s payroll as well as 80 shackled revolutionary soldiers.

1881

To address a growing smallpox epidemic the New York Board of Health began efforts to move Riverside Hospital from Blackwell’s Island to North Brother Island.

1885

The new Riverside Hospital facility, designed to treat New York City’s indigent ill, opened on North Brother Island with three of its ten planned wooden pavilions completed.

1890s

An increase in infectious disease outbreaks in New York City spurred the addition of more pavilions and tents.

Early 1900s

To combat fears of being sent to Riverside Hospital, which resulted in families hiding their ill from authorities, efforts were made to improve the facility’s campus as well as its reputation.

June 15, 1904

The PS General Slocum steamship caught fire south of North Brother Island. Its captain ran the ship aground at the southwestern end of North Brother Island. Over 1,100 people aboard perished, many of whom were women and children who’d been on their way to a Sunday school church outing at Locust Grove Picnic Ground.

1907

The Department of Health gave Mary Mallon, an asymptomatic carrier of Salmonella Typhi, a choice – to have her gall bladder removed (where the bacteria were believed to reside) or be exiled to North Brother Island. She refused the surgery, which was dangerous and not guaranteed to work.

1914 to 1942

Riverside Hospital primarily treated tuberculosis and venereal diseases, as hospitals within the boroughs had become more adept at treating contagious diseases and smallpox had been eradicated in the US.

1918 – 1919

Riverside Hospital treated returning soldiers with drug addictions (using isolation).

1930s

Other hospitals and new developments in public health, epidemiology, and pharmaceuticals reduced the need for the isolation facility.

1933

Mary Mallon suffered a stroke and remained bedridden at Riverside Hospital until her death on November 11, 1938.

1942

The Tuberculosis Pavilion was completed (designed by Electus Litchfield) but never used for its original purpose due to lack of funding / staff.

1944

The Tuberculosis Pavilion closed, along with the rest of the complex, due to a shortage of workers. It was, however, briefly used as a barracks in the later years of WWII.

Post World War II

Several of the larger buildings, including the Tuberculosis Pavilion, were repurposed as apartment buildings for students (and their families) who were studying at NYC colleges under the GI bill. A grocery store, cafeteria, library, and movie theatre were added.

Late 1940s

Following the veterans’ completion of their degrees, the families departed and North Brother Island was temporarily abandoned.

July 1, 1952

Riverside Hospital was reopened as an experimental rehabilitation treatment center for heroin-addicted juveniles.

July 1963

Riverside Hospital was closed. All electricity, phone, and ferry service to the island was discontinued.

1965 to 1980s

Plans were made (and then abandoned) to turn the facility into a “Center for Derelicts.” Other alternatives considered over the years include a maximum security prison, landfill, homeless shelter, and a quarantined facility for AIDS patients.

1987

The New York City Audubon Society and the NYC Department of Environmental Conservation determined that the island had become heavily populated by several species of colonial wading birds.

Mid 1990s

Lightning struck the smokestack on the boiler house.

2001

The New York City Department of Recreation acquired the island and designated it a “Forever Wild” resource with no public access.

2005

A group of students from the University of Pennsylvania, led by Randall Mason, surveyed the island with ecologists and biologists at the NYC Parks Department.

2008

The black-crowned night herons abandoned the island for unknown reasons.

2011

Superstorm Sandy ravaged the north side of the island but left the buildings largely undamaged.

2020

The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation stopped accepting applications for approved access to the island due to the COVID-19 pandemic.