The Importance Of Ellis Island

bycosmicradio

5.9K followers

8 years ago

The Ellis Island immigration center opened January 1, 1892. This is a photo from 1905.

Here's a color photo of the east side of the main building, which was built in 1900

The island covers more than 27 acres, and is located in upper New York Bay, but a US Supreme Court in 1998 ruled that most of the island lies in New Jersey! Only a small section (3.3 acres) is part of New York City.

More than 12 million immigrants came through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954, when the center closed.

The first sight those immigrants saw was the magnificent Statue of Liberty, the giant copper statue given as a gift from France to the United States, and dedicated in 1886!

In 1965, the island was made a part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, and has been an immigration museum since 1990.

Before being converted into an immigration center, the island was a military post for almost 80 years.

The first immigration station on the island burned to the ground in 1897, after processing about 1.5 million immigrants in its first 5 years. All records were lost!

The first immigrant to be processed through the newly built structure, was 16-year-old Annie Moore, from County Cork, in Ireland.

The last immigrant processed through Ellis Island was a Norwegian merchant seaman named Arne Peterssen, in 1954.

Early immigrants came from Germany, Ireland, Britain, and Scandinavian countries, followed by immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe, including Jewish people.

Also processed were Poles, Hungarians, Czechs, Serbs, Slovaks, Greeks, Syrians, Turks, and Armenians.

From 1905 to 1914, there was an average of one million immigrants a year!

Today, over 100 million Americans (1/3 to 40% of the American population) can trace their roots to immigrants who originally arrived at Ellis Island!

Immigrants and their descendants definitely played an important part in building The United States into the country that it is today.

Due to 2% of people being denied admission, because of health issues and other reasons, Ellis Island came to be known as "The Island Of Tears," and "Heartbreak Island."

Many immigrants had to live several days on the ships that brought them, while they were waiting their turn to be processed.

Some circumvented the health screening process by wiping chalk marks, used to identify immigrants with health issues, off their clothing, or turning clothing inside out.

The "Kissing Post" is a wooden column outside of the Registry Room, where new arrivals were greeted by friends and relatives, usually with kisses, hugs, and tears.

Performers who entertained immigrants and servicemen at Ellis Island include Rudy Vallee, Bob Hope, and Jimmy Durante.

(history.com)

With the incredible variety of people from all over the world here at Wealthy Affiliate, we can testify to the amazing benefits of cultural diversity for all of us.

We learn to accept our differences, our acceptance brings us closer together. and we come to the realization that we are somehow more alike than different.