Ellis Island

New York, New York: For many American families, the gateways to the America’s lies within a tiny island in New York Harbor. Over the years, Ellis Island was the entry point to many families looking to make a fresh start for their families in America.

The population of America grew rapidly in the late 1890’s through the early 1900’s due to the influx of Europeans seeking a new life in America. As the number of immigrants increased, the was a great need for a processing facility to help streamline the process.

The need was answered in 1892 when the federal government decided to turn Fort Gibson into an immigration processing facility. The tiny island in the harbor would quickly become the busiest immigration station in the nation.

The original station burned down in 1899. The new building opened which opened in 1900 was a palace like structure. The Great Hall with its vaulted ceilings and elaborate architecture exhibited the high class lifestyle that awaited in America.

The Immigration Act of 1924 changed the way the station did business. The act allowed embassies to process immigration and no longer required the immigrant to pass through the station. So the island became a detention center and deportation processing facility. At the peak of its life as a detention center, Ellis Island had about 1,500 detainees on the island.

Ellis Island was decommissioned in 1954 and the site was abandoned. The buildings quickly fell into disrepair.

In 1965, the island and its buildings became national landmarks and were placed on the National Register of Historic Places a year later. An extensive effort to restore the facility began and in 1990, the site was reopened as a museum.

Today the Ellis Island Immigration Museum is operated by the National Park System in conjunction with the Statue of Liberty. Guest can visit both sites via a ferry from lower Manhattan. Ranger guided tours of the main building allow visitors to see where millions of immigrants passed through the great hall, view dorms when detained immigrants were held and much more. The museum had several exhibitions that chronicle the history of the station and life as an immigrant. You can even search your heritage and view documents of your ancestor’s passing through the station.

Millions of people passed through Ellis Island in search of a better life, today you can follow in their footsteps and try to image what life was like for them years ago.

For photos of the station, visit my Ellis Island photo gallery.