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Europeans Disover Gull Island
The island that we know today as Ellis Island was once inhabited by the Mohegan indians who called the island Gull Island, after the many birds who called it home. In the 1630s a man named Michael Paauw acquires the island and renames it Oyster Island after the plentiful shellfish lining the beaches. -
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Ellis Island
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Samuel Ellis Buys Oyster Island
Around the time of the Revolutionary War New York merchant Samuel Ellis buys Oyster Island from the Dutch where he builds a tavern on the island for the local fisherman. Later in 1808, New York buys the island from the Ellis family for $10,000 where the war department uses the island as a store for ammunition during the War of 1812. -
Federal Government Assumes Control of Ellis Island
In the Spring of 1890, the federal government takes control of immigration from the states. They convert Ellis Island, which until now has stood vacant, into an immigration station. -
First Immigrants arrive at Ellis Island
The first immigration station on Ellis Island opened on January 1, 1892. Almost 700 immigrants coming from 3 different ships passed through the island that day. At the end of the year 450,000 immigrants passed through the island. -
Ellis Island Burns
On June 15, 1897, a fire breaks out in one of the towers of the main building. There were about 200 people in the building at the time but amazingly no one was killed. Later that year a new, fireproof facility opens up with President Theodore Roosevelt pledging changes so nothing like that ever happens again. -
Ellis Island Expands
Due to the overwhelming numbers of immigrants being processed though Ellis Island authorities start construction of expansions to the island. These expansions are constructed using landfill and the space created on the island is used to house the hospital administration building, psychiatric ward and contagious diseases ward. By the end of construction the island has expanded to over 27 acres from its original size of just 3 acres. -
Ellis Island Experiences Record Intakes
On April 17, 1907 Ellis Island sets a record high for the number of immigrants processed in a single day with 11,747 people. After the year was over a record 1,004,756 had arrived and been processed through Ellis Island. After that a federal law is mandaited to exclude people with mental or physical disabilities from being allowed into the country. -
Immigration Declines
In April of 1914, after two years of neutrality, the United States enters World War 2. Due in large part to the war, Ellis Island experiences a drastic decline in the number of immigrants coming into the country. Between 1915 and 1918 the total number of immigrant intakes drops from 178,416 to a mere 28,867 people. Anti-immigrant sentiment also increases due to the war and about 1,800 German citizens are captured and interred on Ellis Island before being deported back to Germany. -
Ellis Island Becomes Field Hospital
Starting in the beginning of 1917, the U.S. Army takes control of Ellis Island and turns it into a field hospital for wounded soldiers. It is a also a way station for Navy personnel and a detention center for enemy aliens. -
Immigration Quota Act
In May of 1924 President Warren G. Harding signed the Immigration Quota Act into law. This law stated that the total number of immigrants coming into the country could not exceed 3% of the total population of the home country in a given year. This particular law was in response to the booming immigration just after World War 1, which saw 590,971 people come into Ellis Island. -
Ellis Island Falls into Disrepair
As soon as the Great Depression takes hold of the country, immigration plummets and slows to a crawl. The buildings on Ellis Island fall into dispreair and are left abandoned. In 1932, more people are actually leaving the country than they are coming in. -
Ellis Island Offically Closes
On November 12, 1954 Ellis Island officially closes its doors for good with all 33 structures being abandoned and boarded up. In March of 1955 the federal government declares that the island is surplus property and leaves it in the jurisditction of the General Services Administration. -
Ellis Island Joins the National Parks Service
In 1965 President Lyndon Johnson issued proclamation 3656 which delared that Ellis Island was officially a part of the National Park Service. It would join the Statue of Liberty national monument and would soon incorportate hour-long guided tours and a state of the art museum dedicated to the history of the island. -
Ellis Island Immigration Museum Opens to the Public
After almost eight years of raising funds and planning the renovation the Ellis Island Immigration Museum opens to the public two years ahead of schedule. Almost $150 million was spent to renovate the interior spaces, inlcuding the main arrivals' building. The goal was to bring the space back to the 19th century and make it look like it did way back when. -
The American Family Immigration History Center Opens
In January of 2001 authorities behind the Ellis Island musuem unveil the The American Family Immigration History Center. The soul purpose is to connect people with their past and bring their ancestor's stories to life. For the first time, authorities allow people to sift through millions of immigration records including original ship manifests.