drawing by Andrew
drawing by Andrew
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Ellis Island first opened in 1892 and was closed in 1954. Between those two dates there is a lot of interesting information put together by our team. Between 1892 and 1954 over 12 million people entered the United States through Ellis Island. Ellis Island was and still is located in the upper part of New York Bay, off the coast of New Jersey, and right next to the Statue of Liberty. From the beginning of Ellis Island until now, the island has enlarged from 3.3 acres to 28 acres, mostly from excess earth from the construction of the New York City subway system. Before Ellis Island was a federal immigration station, it was called numerous names: 1. Before settlers came to America, local Indian tribes called Ellis Island "Kioshk" or Gull Island. 2. Due to Ellis Island's rich oyster beds, it was known as Oyster Island by the Dutch and English during the colonial period. 3. Before being owned by Samuel Ellis, in the 1770's, Ellis Island had been called Kioshk, Oyster, Dyre, Bucking, and Anderson Island. But the ones above are the main ones. |
Top Photo: Remains of Fort
Gibson
Bottom Photo: Shows horseshoe shape of Fort Gibson, 1819
During this period, Ellis
Island was used by the military a lot. British fleets were
sailing freely into the New York City Harbor. To prevent the
British from doing this, America made coastal
fortifications, just prior to the war of 1812. The federal government
purchased Ellis Island from New York State in 1810. A little
bit later, Ellis Island was approved for fortification. On
it was built a wall for three tiers of circular guns. This
made Ellis Island a part of the New York Harbor defense
system, which also included other forts like: Castle Clinton
in Battery Park, Castle Williams on Governor's Island, Fort
Wood on Bedloe's Island, and two forts at Verrazano Narrows.
During this time, Ellis Island was called Fort Gibson in
honor of a brave officer killed during the War of
1812.
Before Ellis Island was
used for an immigration station, Castle Garden (Castle
Clinton) served as a immigration station from 1855-1890.
Approximately eight million entered through its doors.
Immigrants mostly from northern and western European
countries such as England, Ireland, Germany, and from the
Scandinavian countries were the first wave of immigrants to
America. Later on, it was obvious
that Castle Clinton was too small for all the
immigrants.
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The Great Fire on Ellis Island happened five years after its opening, on the night of June 14, 1897. The fire burned down the whole immigration complex to the ground, including all the records from 1855. Nobody was hurt, and nobody knows why it happened or who started it. |
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Ellis Island reopened on December 19, 1900. Just on that day Ellis Island received 2,251 immigrants. |