History

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History

A view of the Angel Island Barracks from the dock

Angel Island is an island located on San Francisco Bay in California. With 640 total acres of trees and hills, it is the biggest island in the bay. It was originally founded and named in 1775, by the Spanish explorer Don Juan Manuel Ayala. Angel Island was then established as a cattle farm, until 1848 when the United States gained rights over this land. From 1850 on, Angel Island became a United States military reserve.

Angel Island Army Post

In 1905, the island was created into the Angel Island Immigration Station, originally set up to be the "Ellis Island of the West". It was where a great mass of Europeans were expected to enter the US from the newly created access through the Panama Canal. However, the eruption of World War I stopped the rush of Europeans from coming, and instead, the majority of the immigrants coming through Angel Island were from Asia. The journey to America was only the beginning of a long and exhausting process. After they landed and began their wait at Angel Island, they found the living conditions were unbearable. The interview process asked irrelevant questions meant to embarrass and outwit the immigrant. To go into depth and find out more, please click on the links provided.

The Journey | The Interview Process | The Conditions