Ellis Island in the 1890s

by Roger O'Conner

Because of its position facing the shipping channel of New York Harbor, Ellis Island was fortified in 1808 in anticipation of war with Britain. After the War of 1812 the U.S. Navy used the island as a munitions dump. During the Civil War large amounts of surplus gunpowder were stored on Ellis Island. The potentially dangerous mix of munitions and gunpowder caused great alarm, especially among the citizens of nearby communities in New Jersey and New York. In 1890, money was appropriated by Congress to clean up Ellis Island and to improve it for immigration purposes.

Concurrently, in 1890, New York State's immigration depot, Castle Garden, located in Battery Park closed amid allegations of harassment of immigrants by state officials. Until the station was established on Ellis Island in New York Harbor, immigration had been in control of the individual states. On January 1, 1892, after two years of construction the first station opened. The original station burned to the ground on June 15, 1897.

A new station (seen here on the left) was erected on the same site and reopened

on December 3, 1900.

Of the millions of immigrants that entered the United States in the 1890's nearly 75% of them passed through Ellis Island. Upon arrival many of them encountered a growing sense of nativism among the established population. For some, the nearly xenophobic attitude limited their integration into mainstream society but the great majority found acceptance to be the common rule.Today Ellis Island stands as a monument to the immigrant history of the United States. For an excellent additional source of information on Ellis Island, click here.

Contributed by Roger O'Conner, American Culture Studies "1890s" course, Spring 1996.

Return to 1890s America: A Chronology.