Ellis Island

Ellis Island is an island that is located in Upper New York Bay in the Port of New York and New Jersey, United States. It was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States as the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954.

History of Ellis Island

In early 1630s Ellis Island was no more than a lot of sand in the Hudson River, located just south of Manhattan. In the 1630s it was known as Oyster Island for the plentiful amounts of shellfish on its beaches. During the 1700s, it was known as Gibbet Island and used to hang men convicted of piracy.
Samuel Ellis purchased the island during the time of the Revolutionary War. Samuel died in 1794, and in 1808 New York State bought the island from his family for $10,000.

After the Civil War, the US government made the decision to move the New York immigration station at Castle Garden to Ellis Island. About $75,000 were spent on the construction of the first federal immigration station.

On 1st January 1892, first Ellis Island Immigration Station officially opened. Three large ships were waiting for the official opening. Seven hundred immigrants passed through Ellis Island on its first day, and nearly 450,000 over the first year. Over the next five decades, over 12 million people passed through the Ellis Island on their way into the United States.

In 1903, to create an additional space at the Ellis Island, two new islands are created using landfill. Island Two was the hospital for inmates and Island Three was used as a psychiatric ward. By 1906, Ellis Island has grown from three acres to more than 27 acres.

Due to World War I in 1914 and immigration to the U.S. dropped dramatically. Ellis Island experienced a sharp decline. By 1917, Ellis Island was used as a hospital for the U.S. Army. By 1918 most of Ellis Island was taken over by Army to treat sick and wounded American servicemen.

The buildings on Ellis Island begin to fall into neglect and abandonment as mass immigration was coming to an end due to great depression in 1932. 

Ellis Island was taken over by U.S. Coast Guard in 1949 and they were using this facility as their office and storage space. Ellis Island was officially closed in November 1954.

In 2001, The American Family Immigration History Center was opened for visitors. It has the research facility and visitors have access to the millions of immigrant arrival records who passed through Ellis Island on their way into the United States. The records include the original manifests, given to passengers’ onboard ships and showing names and other information, as well as information about the history and background of the ships that arrived in New York Harbor bearing hopeful immigrants to the New World.

In 2008, expansion of the Ellis Island Immigration Museum called “The Peopling of America” was announced and was completed in 2011. Ellis Island Museum highlight  the American immigration experience to its visitors.