**TODAY ONLY**

January 1

Ellis Island Begins Operations
On this day in 1892, Ellis Island, the main port of entry for immigrants on the east coast of the US, began operations. Castle Garden, the original immigration station in lower Manhattan, could no longer handle the flow of immigrants. Hang a Left at the Statue of Liberty. Located a few hundred yards north of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, Ellis Island is a monument to America's open door policy. And On the Statue of Liberty, it Said... Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor... "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door." ~ Emma Lazarus. With these words, immigrants came to America for a better life, passing through Ellis Island. Where Do You Come From? Today more than 40%, or over 100 million, of all living Americans can trace their roots to an ancestor who arrived via Ellis Island. Between 1892 and 1954, 12 million immigrants were processed there.	A Mass Farewell. Ellis Island was a point of deportation as well. In 1932 alone, more than 20,000 people were deported back to Europe. The Closing Door. In the wake of the immigration laws of the 1920s, Ellis Island was used more for "assembly, detainment, and deporting aliens." Immigrants had to pass medical and legal inspections before they could enter America. Those who did not pass were returned home via the boats that brought them. A History Moment. Ellis Island was originally called Oyster Island by the early Dutch colonists; it was later known as Gibbet Island, after the executions carried out by hanging criminals on a "gibbet", or gallows tree, during the 1700's. In the 18th century, Samuel Ellis, a merchant from New York City, bought the island and named it after himself. On June 8, 1808, the state of New York bought Ellis Island for a recommended price of "no less than $10,000". Fort Gibson was built on the site just before the War of 1812. It was only used to store ammunition.	Ellis Island was the principal federal immigration station in the United States from 1892 to 1954. More than 12 million immigrants were processed here. Ellis Island Fact Snack. Ellis Island expanded its site from one island to three. Where did the extra islands come from? In 1898 and 1905, the ground for two more islands was created using the earth and rock taken from subway tunnels and the Grand Central Station excavation. Link for More. The American Immigrant Roll of Honor at the Ellis Island Museum. Ellis Island closed down as an immigration center in 1954. Stereoscopic photos. A Virtual Tour. Immigrant Wall of Honor. History Channel looks at Ellis Island.

TODAY ONLY

January 1

Ellis Island Begins Operations

On this day in 1892, Ellis Island, the main port of entry for immigrants on the east coast of the US, began operations. Castle Garden, the original immigration station in lower Manhattan, could no longer handle the flow of immigrants.

Hang a Left at the Statue of Liberty. Located a few hundred yards north of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, Ellis Island is a monument to America's open door policy.

And On the Statue of Liberty, it Said...

Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor... "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door." ~ Emma Lazarus. With these words, immigrants came to America for a better life, passing through Ellis Island.

Where Do You Come From? Today more than 40%, or over 100 million, of all living Americans can trace their roots to an ancestor who arrived via Ellis Island. Between 1892 and 1954, 12 million immigrants were processed there.

A Mass Farewell. Ellis Island was a point of deportation as well. In 1932 alone, more than 20,000 people were deported back to Europe.

The Closing Door. In the wake of the immigration laws of the 1920s, Ellis Island was used more for "assembly, detainment, and deporting aliens." Immigrants had to pass medical and legal inspections before they could enter America. Those who did not pass were returned home via the boats that brought them.

A History Moment.

Ellis Island was originally called Oyster Island by the early Dutch colonists; it was later known as Gibbet Island, after the executions carried out by hanging criminals on a "gibbet", or gallows tree, during the 1700's.
In the 18th century, Samuel Ellis, a merchant from New York City, bought the island and named it after himself.
On June 8, 1808, the state of New York bought Ellis Island for a recommended price of "no less than $10,000".
Fort Gibson was built on the site just before the War of 1812. It was only used to store ammunition.

Ellis Island was the principal federal immigration station in the United States from 1892 to 1954. More than 12 million immigrants were processed here.

Ellis Island Fact Snack. Ellis Island expanded its site from one island to three. Where did the extra islands come from? In 1898 and 1905, the ground for two more islands was created using the earth and rock taken from subway tunnels and the Grand Central Station excavation.

Link for More.

The American Immigrant Roll of Honor at the Ellis Island Museum.

Ellis Island closed down as an immigration center in 1954.

Stereoscopic photos.

A Virtual Tour.

Immigrant Wall of Honor.

History Channel looks at Ellis Island.