The History of Ellis Island, the Gateway to America
History of Ellis Island
1700-1800 Before Ellis Island became the entry point to the United States it was originally a small sandy and rocky island. In the 1700's the island was called Gibbet Island however, in the late 1700's Samuel Ellis, who the island is named after, bought the island. After his death the state of New York bought it from his family. It was then used for military purposes during the War of 1812 and the Civil War. |
1800-1900 After the civil war it was decided that Ellis Island would become an immigration station. On January 1, 1892 the first immigration station on Ellis Island was opened and within the first year 450,000 immigrants passed through Ellis Island on their journey to America. Over a period of fifty years millions of immigrants passed through the entry point. Unfortunately in 1897, a fire broke out destroying all the immigration records from 1840 until 1897. As the years passed, more and more immigrants were coming to Ellis Island and as a result the Island had to expand. It was made larger by filling in land around the island. Fun Fact: The first immigrant to be processed at Ellis Island was Annie Moore. |
1900-1954 In the following years, immigration continued to increase and in 1907 over one million passed through Ellis Island in one year! However, with the onset of World War I the annual rate of immigration began to decline and then in 1932 when the Great Depression began, more people were emigrating from the U.S. than people were immigrating into the U.S. In 1954 all operations were permanently shut down on Ellis Island. |