Unmarked Cemetery

This open field looks innocuous but is an unmarked cemetery for thousands of people.

NPS / Glauco Puig-Santana

Quick Facts

Location:

Kalaupapa National Historical Park

Amenities

1 listed

Parking - Auto

The open fields adjacent to the St. Philomena Churchyard are the burial site for 2,000 - 3,000 Hansen's disease patients. Brother Joseph Dutton wrote about the numerous burials he oversaw here.  In his personal correspondences, he described this area as the Fields of the Dead. He also mentioned how 3-4 coffins would sometimes have to be stacked in a single grave because of the high rate of death and the lack of space in the cemetery.