Deadman ' s Island ( Nova Scotia ) Deadman ' s Island is a small peninsula containing a cemetery and park located in the Northwest Arm of Halifax Harbour in Nova Scotia , Canada . The area was first used as a training grounds for the British military , and later became a burial ground for dead prisoners of war from nearby Melville Island . In the early 1900s the site became an amusement park before being annexed to the city of Halifax in the 1960s . Though development projects were considered for the site , these plans met with popular protest , and instead Deadman ' s Island became a heritage park , Deadman ' s Island Park . Geography . Despite its name , Deadman ' s Island is not an island at all , but a peninsula that protrudes into the Northwest Arm of Halifax Harbour east of Melville Island . Connected to the mainland by a thin wedge of land , it is a " swampy spit . . . surmounted by a piney knoll " . The cove on its eastern side , characterized as " likely areas for the discovery of pre - Contact remains , " supports a significant fish population . Military use . It was first known as " Target Island " or " Target Hill " after use by the British Navy for target practice . The land was used by the British military during the Napoleonic Wars and War of 1812 for interring prisoners of war from a prison on nearby Melville Island . Sixty - six French , nine Spanish , and 195 American soldiers and sailors died at the facility and were buried in canvas bags in unmarked graves , thus giving the island its name . Deadman ' s Island may also have been used to bury some of the escaped slaves who came to Melville Island after 1813 , at least 104 of whom died , and the Irish immigrants quarantined on Melville in 1847 , of whom 30 died . However , after 1847 burials were no longer conducted on the island , despite Melville Island ' s continued use as a prison or detention centre . There was only one known marked grave on Deadman ' s Island , that of Canadian mariner John Dixon ; he was buried in 1847 by the VII King ' s Foot with a temporary marker , which was " renewed " in 1895 by the 1st Royal Berkshire Regiment . According to a local legend , Dixon had fallen in love with the daughter of a British colonel , who upon discovering their romance had him sent to Melville Island prison where he committed suicide ; however , this story is likely false . Park . The British sold Deadman ' s Island to Charles Longley , a Canadian businessman , in 1907 . He built an amusement park known as Melville Park for the children of cottagers on the shore of Melville Cove , and established a ferry system across the Northwest Arm to service the park . The boat fare included free admission to the park seven days per week . Activities offered included swings , slides , dancing on Tuesday and Thursday nights , and " water sports " on Saturdays . A large pavilion was built to host these activities , and included space for boat storage and an upper - level dance hall . Three skulls unearthed during the digging of a berry patch were placed on the rafters in one room to frighten " the bravest of the visitors " . Though the park was initially popular , the onset of the First World War , the 1917 Halifax Explosion , and the economic downturn in the 1920s resulted in financial problems and finally foreclosure in 1927 . In 1936 Longley presented John Dixon ' s grave marker to the Nova Scotia Provincial Museum . In 1930 A . J . Davis bought Deadman ' s Island and reopened it to visitors as a " pleasure park " . The Ryan family took over most of the land in the late 1930s . However , storms and development projects began to uncover skeletons ; in 1959 local resident Edward Bowness found a skull " frozen into the bank " near his home . The lack of surviving grave markers made determining the location of gravesites difficult . Historic site . In the late 1960s the land was annexed to the city of Halifax , but a proposed high - rise apartment met with protest from the Northwest Arm Community Planning Association . Though a counterproposal to rezone the site as parkland was rejected , development on Deadman ' s Island itself did not proceed . However , by the 1990s the land was " effectively the last piece of undeveloped waterfront land on the Northwest Arm . " Condominium units were proposed in 1998 , and were again met with protest from community associations . The Northwest Arm Heritage Association began a project to catalogue the prisoners buried on the site and was joined in their efforts by related societies throughout the Maritimes and New England , culminating in a request that the municipality recognize Deadman ' s Island as a heritage property . The issue was broadcast internationally , receiving mention in the " Globe and Mail " , the " New York Times " and the " Boston Globe " , among others . The city hired historian Brian Cuthbertson to evaluate the heritage claim , and his report concluded that the site could hold as many as 400 bodies ( in contrast with the 35 suggested by the developer ' s preliminary survey ) . The city also saw the site as a potential attraction for American tourists , much like the nearby memorials to victims of the Titanic disaster . The development application was withdrawn in late 1998 , and in February 2000 Deadman ' s Island Park was established by the Halifax Regional Municipality to protect the site and commemorate its historic significance . A memorial service for American prisoners was held in June of that year , and a large plaque was installed on 30 May 2005 to mark the graves of American servicemen .