Ellis Island (N.J. and N.Y.)

1925-1954

Anti-immigration legislation passed in the 1920s, as well as the Great Depression, kept immigration at an all-time low. For the first time in Ellis Island's history, deportation far outnumbered admissions. In view of this situation, the Ellis Island Advisory Committee (a committee appointed by the Department of Labor under Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal program) advised that new buildings be erected for detained immigrants to separate them from deportees, who were often criminals. This final surge of construction included the New Immigration Building, New Ferry House, and the new Recreation Building and Recreation Shelters.

From 1939 to 1946, the United States Coast Guard occupied Ellis Island and established a training station that served 60,000 enlisted men and 3,000 officers. They utilized many buildings on the island. For example, the Baggage and Dormitory Building served as a drill room, armory, boatsman storeroom, carpenter's shop, and machine shop. The Kitchen and Laundry Building was utilized as a kitchen and bake shop. Lastly, the New Immigration Building provided dormitories for the men. After their time at Ellis, the enlisted men and officers were largely responsible for manning transports, destroyer escorts, cutters and submarine chasers during World War II. Although the training station was decommissioned in 1946, the Coast Guard returned to the Island in 1951 and established a Port Security Unit on the island. They utilized numerous buildings, including the recreation buildings and hospital complex, as offices until the abandonment of Ellis Island in 1954.

Although the Coast Guard utilized many of the buildings on Ellis Island during World War II, the Main Immigration Building and hospital complex was not under their jurisdiction. During World War II, German merchant mariners whose ships had been seized at American ports were quartered in the Baggage Room until they were transferred to inland detention camps. Additionally, arrested "enemy aliens" and their families were detained in the Main Immigration Building. The Alien Registration Act of 1940 required all "resident aliens" to be registered and fingerprinted and a 1941 Presidential proclamation identified all citizens of Japan, Germany, and Italy residing in the United States as "alien enemies." Those aliens who were suspected of being potentially dangerous could be detained. The Registry Room was used as family day quarters for enemy aliens who, by 1942, numbered about 1,000. Desperately needed living space for detainees was created in 1943 when all of Ellis Island's administrative workers moved to a Manhattan office. Although the Registry Room was not used as a medical ward, as it had been during World War I, wounded U.S. veterans of World War II were treated in the hospital complex.

After the war, Ellis Island's functions returned to normal - immigrant officials processed detained immigrants and deported those who could not legally live in the United States. Immigrant numbers, however, were dwindling and by 1949, there was talk of closing the island.

The Korean and Cold Wars of the 1950s extended the life of Ellis Island. After the passage of the Intern Security Act of 1950 (an act that prohibited entry to any person affiliated with a totalitarian organization or Communism), the detainee population of the island increased from 400 people to 1,200 people. In 1951, strict enforcement of the Intern Security Act, as well as growing anti-Communist pressures, led to a mass roundup of aliens illegally residing in the New York area. These aliens were held on Ellis Island without bail and were joined by seamen who deserted their ships and stowaways. By 1953, however, congestion on the island subsided.

Historic Immigration Station: From 1892 to 1924, Ellis Island was America's largest and most active immigration station, where over 12 million immigrants were processed. On average, the inspection process took approximately 3-7 hours. For the vast majority of immigrants, Ellis Island truly was an "Island of Hope" - the first stop on their way to new opportunities and experiences in America. For the rest, it became the "Island of Tears" - a place where families were separated and individuals were denied entry into the United States.

1891-1924

In 1891, the federal government assumed responsibility from the states for regulating immigration through the Immigration Act of 1891, which established the Office of Immigration (later the Bureau of Immigration) to administer immigration affairs. The government also appropriated money to build a new immigrant inspection station on Ellis Island. The Immigration Act assigned the Marine Hospital Service (later the Public Health Service) the responsibility of examining the health of immigrants entering the United States.

Before construction of Ellis Island's first immigration depot began, the island was doubled in size with landfill. A ferry slip was dredged and a dock installed next to the main building site. A number of older buildings from the island's time as a military post were adapted for re-use. Ellis Island's first immigration building, constructed of Georgia pine, opened on January 1, 1892.; Due to the economic depression at the time, immigration was light and Ellis Island inspectors had no difficulty in processing the fewer than 20,000 immigrants who arrived annually. On June 15, 1897 a fire destroyed the complex of wooden buildings. Although 140 immigrants and numerous employees were on the island, no one was killed.

The government announced almost immediately that Ellis Island would be rebuilt with fireproof buildings. The New York architectural firm of Boring and Tilton was awarded the contract after a competition entered by five outstanding firms, including McKim, Mead & White.; The first building to be built was the new Main Immigration Building, which opened on December 17, 1900. Following its completion, the Kitchen and Laundry and Powerhouse buildings were erected in 1901 and the island was enlarged by landfill to make room for a hospital complex. In March of 1902, the Main Hospital Building opened. The hospital had the space and equipment to care for 125 patients but it was still not enough--the hospital was overwhelmed with patients diagnosed with trachoma, favus, and other contagious illnesses that warranted exclusion. Over the next seven years, additional buildings were added to the hospital complex including the Hospital Addition / Administration Building, the New Hospital Extension, and the Psychopathic Ward. The island was also enlarged once more using landfill, which allowed for the construction of a Contagious Disease Hospital and Isolation Wards, as well as additional support buildings.

Almost 12 million immigrants were processed through the immigration station on Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954 when the station closed. By 1924, however, the number of immigrants being processed at Ellis Island had been significantly reduced by anti-immigration legislation designed to establish quotas by nationality. This legislation dramatically reduced the number of immigrants allowed to enter the United States.

The Emergency Quota Act, passed in 1921, ended U.S's open door immigration policy. The law significantly reduced the number of admissions by setting quotas according to nationality. The number of each nationality that could be admitted to the United States was limited to 3% of that nationality's representation in the U.S. census of 1910. The law created havoc for those on Ellis Island and thousands of immigrants were stranded on the island awaiting deportation. The island sometimes became so overcrowded that officials had to admit excess-quota immigrants.

The First Quota Act was replaced with the even more restrictive Immigration Act of 1924. This act further limited admissions of each nationality to the United States to 2% of that nationality's representation in the 1890 census. The act sought not only to limit admissions to the United States, but also to curtail immigration of southern and eastern Europeans, who by the 1900s comprised over 50% of the immigrant flow. Additionally, the Immigration Act of 1924 allowed prospective immigrants to undergo inspection before they left their homeland, making the trip to Ellis Island unnecessary.

1674 - 1679
Sir Edmund Andros, the English colonial governor of New York, grants “Little Oyster Island” to Captain William Dyre, the collector of customs. Dyre was mayor of New York City between 1680-1682.

April 23, 1686 - October 1, 1691
Captain Dyre sells the island, known as Dyre’s Island, to Thomas and Patience Lloyd. The New York Legislature at the time passes an act that established the boundaries of New York County. This act included the three oyster islands as part of New York City.

1730
The English colonial governor of New York, John Montgomerie, grants a Charter to New York City that includes Dyre’s Island within the city’ boundaries. Dyre Island is renamed Bucking Island.

1757
New York City officials examine Bucking Island as a possible site for a new city pest house; a contagious disease ward where individuals with certain communicable diseases must go.

1765
The notorious pirate Anderson is hanged on the island. Several pirates were additionally hanged during the next several years. The island became known as “Anderson’s” or “Gibbet Island.”

November 18, 1774
Samuel Ellis, residing at 1 Greenwich Street in Manhattan, purchases the island and builds a tavern on the island.

January 20, 1785
Ellis advertises the island for sale in “Loudon’s New York Packet.” The island was not sold.

1794
Samuel Ellis dies. In his will, he bequeathed the island to the unborn son from his daughter Catherine Ellis Westervelt. He stated that Ellis Island would only become the ownership of the unborn son if that son’s name became Samuel Ellis. Samuel Ellis’ daughter Catherine’ first born child was a son, she named him Samuel Ellis, but the child died in infancy. The island is reverted back to his mother Catherine. Control of the island by Catherine is quickly lost, but she maintains ownership of the island. New York City deeds Ellis Island to New York State for purposes of constructing fortifications by the U.S. War Department. Earthwork, which is a large artificial bank of soil made for defense purposes, was designed and added to the island by French engineer Charles Vincent.

1798
Ebenezer Stevens supervises further fortification work on Ellis Island for the U.S. War Department. Realizing that Ellis Island was still owned by the Ellis family, he recommends that New York State purchases the island and cedes it to the Federal government

February 15, 1800
The State of New York passes an act which cedes control of Ellis Island, Governor’s Island, and Bedloe’s Island (later changed to Liberty Island) to the United States Government. However, Ellis Island is still owned by the Ellis family.

1806
Samuel Ellis Ryerson, grandson to Catherine Ellis’ sister, deeds the island to John A. Berry.

June 30, 1808
The United States gains ownership of Ellis Island by condemnation procedures carried out by New York Governor Daniel D. Tompkins. The Governor purchased the island on behalf of the state of New York from the John A. Berry family, and conveyed it to the Federal government at a cost of $10,000.

1811
Colonel Johnathan Williams finishes construction of a land battery on Ellis Island for harbor defense.

1812
A magazine and barracks is completed. A small garrison of troops is stationed on Ellis Island during the War of 1812 with Great Britain. The garrison saw no action.

1813
Governor Tompkins of New York takes command of the battery at Ellis Island, and names it Fort Gibson. The name was in memory of Colonel James Gibson who had been fatally wounded during the Battle of Fort Erie.

1833
The commissioners of New York and New Jersey met in Manhattan, and entered into an inter-state compact to resolve boundary disputes over New York Harbor and the Hudson River.

1834
The compact is ratified by the state's two legislatures, and approved by Congress. The compact established the harbor boundaries between the two states, and confirmed that both Bedloe’s Island (later changed to Liberty Island) and Ellis Island were part of New York State.

1835
The U.S. Navy gains jurisdiction and uses the island as a powder magazine.

June 22, 1839
Pirate and murderer Cornelius Wilhelms is hanged on the island.

1841
Full jurisdiction of Ellis Island is returned to the U.S. Army. However, the Navy is permitted to retain its powder magazine on the island.

1842
The Army re-arms Fort Gibson.

1847
The New York State Commission of Immigration asked the War Department for permission to use Ellis Island for the convalescence of immigrants. The request was denied.

1865
Battery Gibson (Fort Gibson) is dismantled. The army withdraws from Ellis Island. The Navy adds more magazines, and controls all operations on the island.

1868
Local complaints against the Navy appear in the journal “Harper’s Weekly” on the powder magazine dangers of Ellis Island.

1876
The New York newspaper, “The Sun,” publishes alarming reports about the Navy’s explosives on Ellis Island.

1889
Continued stories on the U.S. Navy’s powder magazine, and its risks to Jersey City and New York City, appear in the New York newspaper “World.”

1890
Congress passes a resolution ordering the removal of the U.S. Navy’s powder magazine on Ellis Island. An amendment was attached directing the Secretary of the Treasure to appropriate $75,000 towards improvements for immigration purposes. The Resolution was signed into law by President Benjamin Harrison on April 11. On May 24, by order of Congress, the powder is removed by Navy personnel to Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island.

1891
Congress passes an immigration act which creates a Bureau of Immigration and a Superintendent of Immigration within the Treasury Department. A commissioner was installed at each major port. Colonel John B. Weber of Buffalo was the first “Commissioner of Immigration” on Ellis Island.

1892
The U.S. Immigration Station on Ellis Island formally opens. Annie Moore of Ireland was the first alien to be processed. By the end of the fiscal year, over 400,000 immigrants had been processed through the new station.

1893
Administrative procedures improve at Ellis Island. Colonel Weber requires all steamship companies to ask additional processing questions on their manifests before boarding immigrants destined for America. President Grover Cleveland appoints Dr. Joseph Senner to succeed Colonel Weber as “Commissioner of Immigration” at Ellis Island.

1897
Thomas Fitchie appointed “Commissioner of Immigration” by President William McKinley. On June 14, a fire destroys the wooden buildings on Ellis Island. Consequently, all staff and immigrants are evacuated. All processing of immigrants is temporarily transferred to the Barge Office in Batter Park, Manhattan.

Dec 17, 1900
A new “fire-proof” main immigration processing building opens. 2,251 immigrants are examined on this day.

1901
The Kitchen, Bathhouse, Laundry, and Powder House are constructed on Island 1.

1902
President Theodore Roosevelt launches a reform campaign to end bureaucratic corruption and the mistreatment of aliens. Wall Street lawyer William Williams is appointed as the new “Commissioner of Immigration.”

1903
The Treasury Department transfers all control and responsibility of immigration to the Department of Commerce and Labor.

1904
A railroad ticketing office is added to the main building.

1905
William Williams resigns as commissioner; President Roosevelt appoints career immigration Robert Watchorn to succeed him.

1905 - 1906
Through New York City Subway excavations in Brooklyn, a landfill of dirt is used to create the five acre "Island 3" where a contagious disease ward is eventually constructed.

1907
1.2 million aliens are examined on Ellis Island; creating a peak year of immigration.

1909
President Taft reappoints William Williams as the Commissioner of Immigration at Ellis Island. Several contagious disease wards are completed on Island 3.

1913
Congress separates the Department of Commerce and Labor into two bureaus. The new Department of Labor is assigned responsibility over immigration.

1913 - 1915
A bakery, greenhouse, and carpenter’s shop is built on Island 1.

1914
President Woodrow Wilson appoints the noted municipal reformer Dr. Frederic Howe as commissioner. During his term, Dr. Howe ameliorated the conditions of detained Aliens.

1914 - 1918
The Great European War causes a sharp decline in immigration.

1916
On the night of July 30th, German saboteurs destroyed the munitions depot on Black Tom Island in New Jersey. The explosion shattered windows at Ellis Island, and damaged the support structure of the arm of the Statue of Liberty. The island was briefly evacuated without injuries.

1917-1918
The United States enters World War 1 with allies of France and Great Britain. Ellis Island is used as a “navy way station;” where ships could pick up supplies. Wounded servicemen were admitted into the hospital on Ellis Island. Enemy aliens were also detained.

December 1919
Anarchist and Bolshevik aliens were arrested during the Palmer raids; deported via Ellis Island.

1920
Doctor Howe resigns as commissioner. President Wilson appoints former New York City deputy police commissioner Frederick A. Wallis as his successor.

1921
President Warren G. Harding replaces Commissioner Wallis with banker and philanthropist Robert E. Todd. An immigrant quota system is introduced.

1923
Todd resigns; President Harding appoints former Manhattan Borough president Henry H. Curran as Commissioner of Immigration, New York District (Ellis Island).

1924
National Origins Act passed. Immigrants are now required to obtain visas in American consulates before embarking for America. Country of Origin quota limits reduced the amount of immigrants that could enter into the United States. As a consequence, immigration to the United States was dramatically reduced.

1929
During the Great Depression, immigration was extremely low.

1931
President Herbert Hoover appoints New York social welfare leader Edward Corsi as Ellis Island’s new “Commissioner of Immigration;” succeeding Henry Curran.

1933
Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins appoints a non-partisan committee to investigate conditions at Ellis Island.

1934
The Ellis Island Committee submits a report to Secretary Perkins that contains many recommendations including the construction of better facilities for immigrants. The Roosevelt Administration acted on many of the recommendations. Through landfill, the island is increased to its present size of 27.5 acres. Commissioner Corsi resigns; President Franklin D. Roosevelt replaces him with Rudolph Reimer.

1939
A Coast Guard training station opens on Ellis Island.

April 11, 1940
Commissioner Reimer presides over the fiftieth anniversary ceremonies that marked Ellis Island’s designation as a federal alien receiving station. On June 14th, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) is shifted to the Justice Department after being under the Department of Labor for 27 years.

May 1942
Approximately 1,000 German, Italian, and Japanese enemy aliens are detained at Ellis Island.

1943
All Immigration and Naturalization Service functions, except for detention, moves from Ellis Island to the Work Projects Administration Headquarters Building at 70 Columbus Circle in Manhattan.

1948
The Displaced Persons Act allows a total of 400,000 refugees to enter the country.

1949
President Harry Truman appoints Edward J. Shaughnessy, Immigration and Naturalization Service district director from New York to succeed Rudolph Reimer. Hearings for detained aliens are returned to Ellis Island.

1950
The passage by Congress of the Internal Security Act over President Truman’s veto causes a flurry of alien detentions at Ellis Island.

1951
The U.S. Public Health Service closes the hospital at Ellis Island. The U.S. Coast Guard temporarily takes over the buildings.

1953
On a visit to Ellis Island, District Director Shaughnessy observes that there are only 237 detainees on the island, but there are 250 employees to handle them!

November 12, 1954
The Immigration and Naturalization Service removes the last detained aliens from Ellis Island.

November 29, 1954
The ferryboat “Ellis Island” makes its last run. The island is vacated.

March 4, 1955
Ellis Island is determined to be surplus government property, and it returns to obscurity. The General Services Administration assumes jurisdiction.

May 11, 1965
President Lyndon Johnson, invoking the Antiquities Act of 1906, proclaims Ellis Island as a part of Statue of Liberty National Monument; changing control to the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

1973 - 1975
An Ellis Island clean-up campaign inaugurates Dr. Peter Sammartino of Fairlie Dickenson University.

May 1976 – Sept. 1984
Ellis Island opens for public tours.

May 1982
In a White House press conference, President Ronald Reagan announces a plan to restore both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

1986 - 1990
The Ellis Island restoration project costs $156 million dollars.

September 10, 1990
Ellis Island opens to the public a day after opening ceremonies. Ceremonies were presided by J. Danforth Quayle, Vice President of the United States, and Lee Iacocca, Chairman of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation.

1998
Following a lawsuit initiated by the State of New Jersey, the U.S. Supreme Court votes 6-3 to divide the sovereignty of Ellis Island between New York and New Jersey. New York retains the original 3.3 acres, and New Jersey wins the other 24 landfilled acres of the island

1999
The National Parks Service begins planning for the stabilization of decaying buildings on the south side (Islands 2 & 3) of Ellis Island.

Spring 2001
The American Family Immigration History Center (AFIHC) opens at Ellis Island.

Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, within the states of New York and New Jersey, that contains a museum and former immigration inspection station of the same name. As the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 to 1954, it processed approximately 12 million immigrants to the United States through the Port of New York and New Jersey. Today, the island is part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, a U.S. national monument. The north side of the island hosts a museum of immigration, accessible only by ferry. The south side of the island, including the Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital, is abandoned but accessible to the public through guided tours; Ellis Island was one of three "Oyster Islands", the other two being Liberty Island and the now-destroyed Black Tom Island. The federal government began expanding the island by land reclamation in the late 19th century to accommodate its immigration station, and the expansions continued in stages until 1934; Jurisdictional disputes reemerged in the 1980s with the renovation of Ellis Island, and then again in the 1990s with the proposed redevelopment of the south side. New Jersey sued in 1997, and subsequently the border was redrawn using geographic information science data. The lawsuit was escalated to the Supreme Court, which ruled in New Jersey v. New York 523 U.S. 767 (1998) that all of the infilled portions of the island were part of New Jersey. This caused several immediate instances of confusion, as some buildings straddled the interstate border, especially those on island 1. The ruling had no effect on the status of Liberty Island, 4.17 acres (1.69 ha) of which was created by land reclamation; The native Lenape name for the island was "Kioshk", meaning "Gull Island", in reference to Ellis Island's former large population of seagulls. When the Dutch settled the area as part of New Netherland, the three islands in Upper New York Bay—Liberty, Black Tom, and Ellis Islands—were given the name Oyster Islands, alluding to the large oyster population nearby. The comparatively large Liberty Island was called "Great Oyster Island" (and later "Bedloe's Island"), while Ellis Island was called "Little Oyster Island", despite being larger than Black Tom Island. The name "Little Oyster Island" persisted through at least the early 1900s. During the colonial period, Little Oyster Island was sold to multiple landowners, and was thus known by various names, including Dyre's, Bucking, and Anderson's. In the 1760s, after some pirates were hanged from one of the island's scrubby trees, it became known as Gibbet Island. The current name comes from Samuel Ellis, who bought the island in the late 18th century. Ellis Island was also used by the military for almost 80 years; Stevens, who observed that the Ellis family still owned most of the island, suggested selling off the land to the federal government. Samuel Ryerson, one of Samuel Ellis's grandsons, deeded the island to John A. Berry in 1806. The remaining portion of the island was acquired by condemnation the next year, and it was ceded to the United States on June 30, 1808, for $10,000. Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Williams, placed in charge of New York Harbor defenses in the early 1800s, proposed several new fortifications around the harbor as part of the Second System of fortifications. The new fortifications included increased firepower and improved weaponry. The War Department established a circular stone 14-gun battery, a mortar battery (possibly of six mortars), magazine, and barracks. The fort was initially called Crown Fort, but by the end of the War of 1812 the battery was named Fort Gibson, in honor of Colonel James Gibson of the 4th Regiment of Riflemen, who was killed in the war during the Siege of Fort Erie. The fort was not used in combat during the war, and instead served as a barracks for the 11th Regiment, as well as a jail for British prisoners of war; At the end of the Civil War, the fort declined again, this time to an extent that the weaponry was rendered unusable; The Army had unsuccessfully attempted to use Ellis Island "for the convalescence for immigrants" as early as 1847; On April 11, 1890, the federal government ordered the magazine at Ellis Island be torn down to make way for the U.S.'s first federal immigration station at the site. The Department of the Treasury, which was in charge of constructing federal buildings in the U.S., officially took control of the island that May 24. Congress initially allotted $75,000 to construct the station and later doubled that appropriation. While the building was under construction, the Barge Office at the Battery was used for immigrant processing. During construction, most of the old Battery Gibson buildings were demolished, and Ellis Island's land size was almost doubled to 6 acres (2.4 ha). The main structure was a two-story structure of Georgia Pine, which was described in Harper's Weekly as "a latterday watering place hotel" measuring 400 by 150 feet (122 by 46 m). Its outbuildings included a hospital, detention building, laundry building, and utility plant that were all made of wood. Some of the former stone magazine structures were reused for utilities and offices. Additionally, a ferry slip with breakwater was built to the south of Ellis Island. Following further expansion, the island measured 11 acres (4.5 ha) by the end of 1892; Following the fire, passenger arrivals were again processed at the Barge Office, which soon proved to be inadequate for handling the large volume of immigrants. Within three days of the fire, the federal government made plans to build a new, fireproof immigration station. Legislation to rebuild the station was approved on June 30, 1897, and appropriations were made in mid-July. By September, the Treasury's Supervising Architect, James Knox Taylor, opened an architecture competition to rebuild the immigration station. The competition was the second to be conducted under the Tarsney Act of 1893, which had permitted private architects to design federal buildings, rather than government architects in the Supervising Architect's office. The contest rules specified that a "main building with annexes" and a "hospital building", both made of fireproof materials, should be part of each nomination. Furthermore, the buildings had to be able to host a daily average of 1,000 and maximum of 4,000 immigrants; The new immigration station opened without fanfare on December 17, 1900, and on that day 2,251 immigrants were processed; Immigration commissioner William Williams made substantial changes to Ellis Island's operations, and during his tenure from 1902-1905 and 1909-1913, Ellis Island processed its peak number of immigrants; With the passing of the Emergency Quota Act of 1921, the number of immigrants being allowed into the United States declined greatly, ending the era of mass immigration. Following the Immigration Act of 1924, strict immigration quotas were enacted, and Ellis Island was downgraded from a primary inspection center to an immigrant-detention center, hosting only those that were to be detained or deported (see § Mass detentions and deportations). This resulted in a steep drop in immigration to Ellis Island, because inspections were now primarily conducted aboard ships in New York Harbor. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 further decreased immigration, as people were now discouraged from immigrating to the U.S. Because of the resulting decline in patient counts, the hospital closed in 1930. Edward Corsi, who himself was an immigrant, became Ellis Island commissioner in 1931 and commenced an improvement program for the island. The initial improvements were utilitarian, focusing on such aspects as sewage, incineration, and power generation. In 1933, a federal committee led by the Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins, was established to determine what operations and facilities needed improvement. The committee's report, released in 1934, suggested the construction of a new class-segregated immigration building, recreation center, ferry house, verandas, and doctors/nurses' quarters, as well as the installation of a new seawall around the island. These works were undertaken using Public Works Administration funding and Works Progress Administration labor, and were completed by the late 1930s. As part of the project, the surgeon's house and recreation center were demolished, and Edward Laning commissioned some murals for the island's buildings. Other improvements included the demolition of the greenhouse, the completion of the infilling of the basin between islands 2 and 3, and various landscaping activities such as the installation of walkways and plants. However, because of the steep decline in immigration, the immigration building went underused for several years, and it started to deteriorate. With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Ellis Island was again utilized by the military, this time being used as a United States Coast Guard base. As during World War I, the facilities were used to detain enemy soldiers in addition to immigrants, and the hospital was used for treating injured American soldiers; The Army had unsuccessfully attempted to use Ellis Island "for the convalescence for immigrants" as early as 1847. Across New York Harbor, Castle Clinton had been used as an immigration station since 1855, processing more than eight million immigrants during that time. The individual states had their own varying immigration laws until 1875, but the federal government regarded Castle Clinton as having "varied charges of mismanagement, abuse of immigrants, and evasion of the laws", and as such, wanted it to be completely replaced. The federal government assumed control of immigration in early 1890 and commissioned a study to determine the best place for the new immigration station in New York Harbor. Among members of the United States Congress, there were disputes about whether to build the station on Ellis, Governors, or Liberty Islands. Initially, Liberty Island was selected as the site for the immigration station, but due to opposition for immigration stations on both Liberty and Governors Islands, the committee eventually decided to build the station on Ellis Island.Since Castle Clinton's lease was about to expire, Congress approved a bill to build an immigration station on Ellis Island; On April 11, 1890, the federal government ordered the magazine at Ellis Island be torn down to make way for the U.S.'s first federal immigration station at the site. The Department of the Treasury, which was in charge of constructing federal buildings in the U.S., officially took control of the island that May 24. Congress initially allotted $75,000 to construct the station and later doubled that appropriation. While the building was under construction, the Barge Office at the Battery was used for immigrant processing. During construction, most of the old Battery Gibson buildings were demolished, and Ellis Island's land size was almost doubled to 6 acres (2.4 ha). The main structure was a two-story structure of Georgia Pine, which was described in Harper's Weekly as "a latterday watering place hotel" measuring 400 by 150 feet (122 by 46 m). Its outbuildings included a hospital, detention building, laundry building, and utility plant that were all made of wood. Some of the former stone magazine structures were reused for utilities and offices. Additionally, a ferry slip with breakwater was built to the south of Ellis Island. Following further expansion, the island measured 11 acres (4.5 ha) by the end of 1892; The station opened on January 1, 1892, and its first immigrant was Annie Moore, a 17-year-old girl from Cork, Ireland, who was traveling with her two brothers to meet their parents in the U.S. On the first day, almost 700 immigrants passed over the docks. Over the next year, over 400,000 immigrants were processed at the station. The processing procedure included a series of medical and mental inspection lines, and through this process, some 1% of potential immigrants were deported. Additional building improvements took place throughout the mid-1890s, and Ellis Island was expanded to 14 acres (5.7 ha) by 1896. The last improvements, which entailed the installation of underwater telephone and telegraph cables to Governors Island, were completed in early June 1897. On June 15, 1897, the wooden structures on Ellis Island were razed in a fire of unknown origin, possibly caused by faulty wiring. No one died, but the wooden buildings had burned down within two and a half hours, and all of the original immigration records from 1855 were ruined. Over five years of operation, the station had processed 1.5 million immigrants; Following the fire, passenger arrivals were again processed at the Barge Office, which soon proved to be inadequate for handling the large volume of immigrants; The new immigration station opened without fanfare on December 17, 1900, and on that day 2,251 immigrants were processed. Almost immediately, additional projects commenced to improve the main structure, including an entrance canopy, baggage conveyor, and railroad ticket office. The kitchen/laundry and powerhouse started construction in May 1900 and were completed by the end of 1901. A ferry house was also built between islands 1 and 2 c. 1901. The hospital, originally slated to be opened in 1899, was not completed until November 1901, mainly due to various funding delays and construction disputes. The facilities proved barely able to handle the flood of immigrants that arrived, and as early as 1903, immigrants had to remain in their transatlantic boats for several days due to inspection backlogs. Several wooden buildings were erected by 1903, including waiting rooms and a 700-bed barracks, and by 1904, over a million dollars' worth of improvements were proposed. The hospital was expanded from 125 to 250 beds in February 1907, and a new psychopathic ward debuted in November of the same year. Also constructed was an administration building adjacent to the hospital; Immigration commissioner William Williams made substantial changes to Ellis Island's operations, and during his tenure from 1902-1905 and 1909-1913, Ellis Island processed its peak number of immigrants. Williams also made changes to the island's appearance, adding plants and grading paths upon the once-barren landscape of Ellis Island. Under Williams's supervision, a 4.75-acre (1.92 ha) third island was built to accommodate a proposed contagious-diseases ward, separated from existing facilities by 200 feet (61 m) of water. Island 3, as it was called, was located to the south of island 2 and separated from that island by a now-infilled ferry basin. The government bought the underwater area for island 3 from New Jersey in 1904, and a contract was awarded in April 1905. The islands were all connected via a cribwalk on their western sides (later covered with wood canopy), giving Ellis Island an overall "E"-shape. Upon the completion of island 3 in 1906, Ellis Island covered 20.25 acres (8.19 ha). A baggage and dormitory building was completed c. 1908–1909, and alterations were made to the registry building and dormitories as well, but even this was insufficient to accommodate the high volume of immigrants. In 1911, Williams alleged that Congress had allocated too little for improvements to Ellis Island, even though the improvement budget that year was $868,000; Additional improvements and routine maintenance work were completed in the early 1910s. A greenhouse was built in 1910, and the contagious-diseases ward on island 3 opened the following June. The main hospital was expanded in 1909, the incinerator was replaced in 1911, and a recreation center operated by the American Red Cross was also built on island 2 by 1915. These facilities generally followed the design set by Tilton and Boring. When the Black Tom explosion occurred on Black Tom Island in 1916, the complex suffered moderate damage; though all immigrants were evacuated safely, the main building's roof collapsed, and windows were broken. The main building's roof was replaced with a Guastavino-tiled arched ceiling by 1918. The immigration station was temporarily closed during World War I in 1917-1919, during which the facilities were used as a jail for suspected enemy combatants, and later as a treatment center for wounded American soldiers. Immigration inspections were conducted aboard ships or at docks. During the war, immigration processing at Ellis Island declined by 97%, from 878,000 immigrants per year in 1914 to 26,000 per year in 1919; Ellis Island's immigration station was reopened in 1920, and processing had rebounded to 560,000 immigrants per year by 1921. There were still ample complaints about the inadequate condition of Ellis Island's facilities. However, despite a request for $5.6 million in appropriations in 1921, aid was slow to materialize, and initial improvement work was restricted to smaller projects such as the infilling of the basin between islands 2 and 3. Other improvements included rearranging features such as staircases to improve pedestrian flow. These projects were supported by president Calvin Coolidge, who in 1924 requested that Congress approve $300,000 in appropriations for the island. The allocations were not received until the late 1920s; With the passing of the Emergency Quota Act of 1921, the number of immigrants being allowed into the United States declined greatly, ending the era of mass immigration. Following the Immigration Act of 1924, strict immigration quotas were enacted, and Ellis Island was downgraded from a primary inspection center to an immigrant-detention center, hosting only those that were to be detained or deported. This resulted in a steep drop in immigration to Ellis Island, because inspections were now primarily conducted aboard ships in New York Harbor. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 further decreased immigration, as people were now discouraged from immigrating to the U.S. Because of the resulting decline in patient counts, the hospital closed in 1930; Edward Corsi, who himself was an immigrant, became Ellis Island commissioner in 1931 and commenced an improvement program for the island. The initial improvements were utilitarian, focusing on such aspects as sewage, incineration, and power generation. In 1933, a federal committee led by the Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins, was established to determine what operations and facilities needed improvement. The committee's report, released in 1934, suggested the construction of a new class-segregated immigration building, recreation center, ferry house, verandas, and doctors/nurses' quarters, as well as the installation of a new seawall around the island.[165][166][167] These works were undertaken using Public Works Administration funding and Works Progress Administration labor, and were completed by the late 1930s. As part of the project, the surgeon's house and recreation center were demolished, and Edward Laning commissioned some murals for the island's buildings. Other improvements included the demolition of the greenhouse, the completion of the infilling of the basin between islands 2 and 3, and various landscaping activities such as the installation of walkways and plants. However, because of the steep decline in immigration, the immigration building went underused for several years, and it started to deteriorate; With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Ellis Island was again utilized by the military, this time being used as a United States Coast Guard base. As during World War I, the facilities were used to detain enemy soldiers in addition to immigrants, and the hospital was used for treating injured American soldiers. So many combatants were detained at Ellis Island that administrative offices were moved to mainland Manhattan in 1943, and Ellis Island was used solely for detainment;
By 1947, shortly after the end of World War II, there were proposals to close Ellis Island due to the massive expenses needed for the upkeep of a relatively small detention center. The hospital was closed in 1950-1951 by the United States Public Health Service, and by the early 1950s, there were only 30 to 40 detainees left on the island. The island's closure was announced in mid-1954, when the federal government announced that it would construct a replacement facility on Manhattan. Ellis Island closed on November 12, 1954, with the departure of its last detainee, Norwegian merchant seaman Arne Peterssen. At the time, it was estimated that the government would save $900,000 a year from closing the island. The ferryboat Ellis Island, which had operated since 1904, stopped operating two weeks later; After the immigration station closed, the buildings fell into disrepair and were abandoned, and the General Services Administration (GSA) took over the island in March 1955. The GSA wanted to sell off the island as "surplus property" and contemplated several options, including selling the island back to the city of New York or auctioning it to a private buyer. In 1959, real estate developer Sol Atlas unsuccessfully bid for the island, with plans to turn it into a $55 million resort with a hotel, marina, music shell, tennis courts, swimming pools, and skating rinks. The same year, Frank Lloyd Wright designed the $100 million "Key Project", which included housing, hotels, and large domes along the edges. However, Wright died before presenting the project. Other attempts at redeveloping the site, including a college, a retirement home, an alcoholics' rehabilitation center, and a world trade center were all unsuccessful. In 1963, the Jersey City Council voted to rezone of the island's area within New Jersey for high-rise residential, monument/museum, or recreational use, though the new zoning ordinance banned "Coney Island"-style amusement parks; In June 1964, the National Park Service published making a report that proposed making Ellis Island part of a national monument. This idea was approved by Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall in October 1964. Ellis Island was added to the Statue of Liberty National Monument on May 11, 1965, and that August, President Lyndon B. Johnson approved the redevelopment of the island as a museum and park; The initial master plan for the redevelopment of Ellis Island, designed by Philip Johnson, called for the construction of the Wall, a large "stadium"-shaped monument to replace the structures on the island's northwest side, while preserving the main building and hospital. However, no appropriations were immediately made, other than a $250,000 allocation for emergency repairs in 1967. By the late 1960s, the abandoned buildings were deteriorating severely: vandalism was rampant, weeds were growing everywhere, and the seawall was falling into the bay. Johnson's plan was never implemented due to public opposition and a lack of funds. Another master plan was proposed in 1968, which called for the rehabilitation of island 1 and the demolition of all buildings, including the hospital, on islands 2 and 3. The Jersey City Jobs Corpsmen started rehabilitating part of Ellis Island the same year, in accordance with this plan This was soon halted indefinitely because of a lack of funding. In 1970, a squatters' club called the National Economic Growth and Reconstruction Organization (NEGRO) started refurbishing buildings as part of a plan to turn the island into an addiction rehabilitation center, but were evicted after less than two weeks. NEGRO's permit to renovate the island were ultimately terminated in 1973; The main building opened as a museum on September 10, 1990. Further improvements were made after the north side's renovation was completed. The Wall of Honor, a monument to raise money for the restoration, was completed in 1990 and reconstructed starting in 1993. A research facility with online database, the American Family Immigration History Center, was opened in April 2001. Subsequently, the ferry building was restored for $6.4 million and reopened in 2007. The north side was temporarily closed after being damaged in Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, though the island and part of the museum reopened exactly a year later, after major renovations; By the time Ellis Island's immigration station closed, 12 million immigrants had been processed by the U.S. Bureau of Immigration. It is estimated that 10.5 million immigrants departed for points across the United States from the Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal nearby. Others would have used one of the other terminals along the North River/Hudson River at that time. At the time of closure, it was estimated that closer to 20 million immigrants had been processed or detained at Ellis Island. Today, over 100 million Americans—about 30% of the population of the United States—can trace their ancestry to immigrants who arrived in America at Ellis Island; Initial immigration policy provided for the admission of most immigrants to the United States, other than those with mental or physical disabilities, or a moral, racial, religious, or economic reason for exclusion. At first, the majority of immigrants arriving were Northern and Western Europeans, with the largest numbers coming from the German Empire, the Russian Empire and Finland, the United Kingdom, and Italy. Eventually, these groups of peoples slowed in the rates that they were coming in, and immigrants came in from Southern and Eastern Europe, including Jews. These people immigrated for a variety of reasons including escaping political and economic oppression, as well as persecution, destitution, and violence. Other groups of peoples being processed through the station were Poles, Hungarians, Czechs, Serbs, Slovaks, Greeks, Syrians, Turks, and Armenians; Immigration through Ellis Island peaked in the first decade of the 20th century. Between 1905 and 1914, an average of one million immigrants per year arrived in the United States. Immigration officials reviewed about 5,000 immigrants per day during peak times at Ellis Island. Two-thirds of those individuals emigrated from eastern, southern and central Europe. The peak year for immigration at Ellis Island was 1907, with 1,004,756 immigrants processed, and the all-time daily high occurred on April 17 of that year, when 11,747 immigrants arrived. Following the Immigration Act of 1924, which both greatly reduced immigration and allowed processing overseas, Ellis Island was only used by those who had problems with their immigration paperwork, as well as displaced persons and war refugees. This affected both nationwide and regional immigration processing: only 2.34 million immigrants passed through the Port of New York from 1925 to 1954, compared to the 12 million immigrants processed from 1900 to 1924. Average annual immigration through the Port of New York from 1892 to 1924 typically numbered in the hundreds of thousands, though after 1924, annual immigration through the port was usually in the tens of thousands; In the early years of Ellis Island's operation, initial medical inspection was conducted on board ships, while a secondary inspection was conducted at Ellis Island. Those with contagious diseases were quarantined at Hoffman Island or Swinburne Island, two artificial islands off the shore of Staten Island to the south. The islands ceased to be used for quarantine by the 1920s due to the decline in inspections at Ellis Island. For the vast majority of passengers, since most transatlantic ships could not dock at Ellis Island due to shallow water, the ships unloaded at Manhattan first, and steerage passengers were then taken to Ellis Island for processing. First- and second-class passengers typically bypassed the Ellis Island processing altogether; Medical inspections:
To support the activities of the United States Bureau of Immigration, the United States Public Health Service operated an extensive medical service. The medical service at Ellis Island started operating when the first immigration station opened in 1892, and was suspended when the station burned down in 1897. Between 1897 and 1902, medical inspections took place both at other facilities in New York City and on ships in the New York Harbor. A second hospital called U.S. Marine Hospital Number 43 or the Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital was built in 1902 and operated through 1930. Uniformed military surgeons staffed the medical division, which was active in the hospital wards, the Battery's Barge Office, and Ellis Island's Main Building. Immigrants were brought to the island via barge from their transatlantic ships; A "line inspection" was conducted in the main building. In the line inspection, the immigrants were split into several single-file lines, and inspectors would first check for any visible physical disabilities. Each immigrant would be inspected by two inspectors: one to catch any initial physical disabilities, and another to check for any other ailments that the first inspector did not notice. The doctors would then observe immigrants as they walked, to determine any irregularities in their gait. Immigrants were asked to drop their baggage and walk up the stairs to the second floor; The line inspection at Ellis Island was unique because of the volume of people it processed, and as such, used several unconventional methods of medical examination. For example, after an initial check for physical disabilities, inspectors would use special forceps or the buttonhook to examine immigrants for signs of eye diseases such as trachoma. Following each examination, inspectors used chalk to draw symbols on immigrants who were suspected to be sick. Some immigrants supposedly wiped the chalk marks off surreptitiously or inverted their clothes to avoid medical detention. Chalk-marked immigrants and those with suspected mental disabilities were then sent to rooms for further inspection, according to a 1917 account; The symbols used for chalk markings were:<p>
<p>B – Back</p>
<p>C – Conjunctivitis</p>
<p>TC – Trachoma</p>
<p>E – Eyes</p>
<p>F – Face</p>
<p>FT – Feet</p>
<p>G – Goiter</p>
<p>H – Heart</p>
<p>K – Hernia</p>
<p>L – Lameness</p>
<p>N – Neck</p>
<p>P – Physical and Lungs</p>
<p>PG – Pregnancy</p>
<p>S – Senility</p>
<p>SC – Scalp (favus)</p>
<p>X – Suspected mental defect</p>
<p>ⓧ – Definite signs of mental defect</p>
<p>U.S. Immigrant Inspectors used some other symbols or marks as they interrogated immigrants in the Registry Room to determine whether to admit or detain them, including:</p>
<p>SI – Special Inquiry</p>
<p>IV – Immigrant Visa</p>
<p>LPC – Likely or Liable to become a Public Charge</p>
<p>Med. Cert. – Medical certificate issued</p>
Those who were cleared were given a medical certificate or an affidavit. According to a 1912 account by physician Alfred C. Reed, immigrants were medically cleared only after three on-duty physicians signed an affidavit. Those with visible illnesses were deported or held in the island's hospital. Between 1891 and 1930, Ellis Island reviewed over 25 million attempted immigrants, of which 700,000 were given certificates of disability or disease and of these 79,000 were barred from entry. Approximately 4.4% of immigrants between 1909 and 1930 were classified as disabled or diseased, and one percent of immigrants were deported yearly due to medical causes. The proportion of "diseased" increased to 8.0% during the Spanish flu of 1918-1919. More than 3,000 attempted immigrants died in the island's hospital; Interviews: According to a reconstruction of immigration processes in 1907, immigrants who passed the initial inspections spent two to five hours at Ellis Island. Arrivals were asked a couple dozen questions including name and occupation. The government even asked immigrants how much money they carried, to determine whether new arrivals would be self-sufficient upon arrival. The government wanted the immigrants to have, on average, between $18 and $25 (worth between $484 and $672 as of 2018[h]; Some unskilled workers were deemed "likely to become a public charge" and so were rejected; about 2% of immigrants were deported. Ellis Island was sometimes known as "The Island of Tears" or "Heartbreak Island" for these 2% of deportees. Those who were admitted often met with relatives and friends at the Kissing Post, a wooden column outside the registry room; Ellis Island's use as a detention center dates from World War I, when it was used to house those who were suspected of being enemy soldiers. During the war, six classes of "enemy aliens" were established, including officers and crewmen from interned ships; three classes of Germans; and suspected spies. After the American entry into World War I, about 1,100 German and Austrian naval officers and crewmen in the Ports of New York and New London were seized and held in Ellis Island's baggage and dormitory building. A commodious stockade was built for the seized officers. A 1917 New York Times article depicted the conditions of the detention center as being relatively hospitable; Anti-immigrant sentiments developed in the U.S. during and after World War I, especially toward Southern and Eastern Europeans who were entering the country in large numbers. Following the Immigration Act of 1924, primary inspection was moved to New York Harbor, and Ellis Island only hosted immigrants that were to be detained or deported. After the passage of the 1924 act, the Immigration Service established multiple classes of people who were said to be "deportable". This included immigrants who entered in violation of previous exclusion acts; Chinese immigrants in violation of the 1924 act; those convicted of felonies or other "crimes of moral turpitude"; and those involved in prostitution. During and immediately following World War II, Ellis Island was used to hold German merchant mariners and "enemy aliens"—Axis nationals detained for fear of spying, sabotage, and other fifth column activity. When the U.S. entered the war in December 1941, Ellis Island held 279 Japanese, 248 Germans, and 81 Italians removed from the East Coast. Unlike other wartime immigration detention stations, Ellis Island was designated as a permanent holding facility and was used to hold foreign nationals throughout the war. A total of 7,000 Germans, Italians and Japanese would be ultimately detained at Ellis Island; The Internal Security Act of 1950 barred members of communist or fascist organizations from immigrating to the United States. Ellis Island saw detention peak at 1,500, but by 1952, after changes to immigration laws and policies, only 30 to 40 detainees remained. One of the last detainees was the Indonesian Aceh separatist Hasan di Tiro who, while a student in New York in 1953, declared himself the "foreign minister" of the rebellious Darul Islam movement and was subsequently stripped of his Indonesian citizenship and held as an "illegal alien"