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Ellis Island is a part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, but is its own island with its own history and worthy of separate exploration. Twelve million immigrants entered the United States through Ellis Island for over 60 years starting in 1892.
The Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration is in the main building where arrivals were processed. Half of today’s American people are descended from the immigrants who passed this way.
I visited here recently with a community school. We stopped first in Ellis Island on our way to the Statue of Liberty and took a guided tour of the museum with a park ranger.
The first floor is the Baggage Room. Immigrants would come here after disembarking from their vessel and leave their luggage before going to the Registry Room on the second floor. Today there are introductory exhibits to the history of american immigration on this floor.
The Registry Room has been restored to its appearance in the early 1900s. The ranger described how the immigrants were examined for contagious disease, interviewed and sorted here. Those who failed inspection were either sent to the hospital on the island for treatment or sent back to their point of departure at the expense of the shipping company.
SOL Posts:
- TheΒ Ellis IslandΒ ImmigrantΒ Hospital
- Statue of Liberty National Monument (Coming soon)
- Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration
- Statue of Liberty Museum (Coming soon)
Location:Β Jersey City & New York City
Designation:Β National Monument
Date designated or established:Β 5/11/1965
Date of my visit:Β 9/23/2019
When people visit New a York from out of town this is the first place I always tell them to go. When you walk into the Great Hall you can imagine what it must have been like to disembark here. The restoration is amazing and the exhibits couldnβt be more interesting. (One of these days weβre going to bump into each other visiting these places.)
Yes we will! One of these days, I want to take the hard hat tour again…I think the Save Ellis Island group has made some progress in the hospital area.
Thanks for this! Now Iβm inspired to go! Iβve been by on the Staten Island Ferry but have never made time to actually visit here. π
I grew up in Staten Island and always passed these things by, too. Didnβt really start to explore the area until I lived with exchange students who wanted to see everything while they were hereπ
Isnβt it funny how easily we dismiss the things in our own backyard? Iβm glad you started exploring!
Yes! Me tooπ
This is a great post. Photos and story very powerful. We visited the statue but I wish we had visited Ellis Island….next time.
Thanks so much! Come back and visit again π
Sad to say that even though I have been to New York twice, we have never made it here. Thanks for sharing. Allan
Hopefully you can come back and visit again π I like Ellis Island better than Liberty Island, though with your ticket, you can see both.
Ellis Island is worth visiting. I went there years ago and hope to return soon. I think they have a room where you can look up your family name or ancestor on the computer.
Yes, they do have a library in the back for that. Itβs been a long time since I researched my ancestors, but I was able to connect with the Ellis Island database over the internet back then.
That’s great! I remember someone who was with me found their person and I think they were able to get a nice print from them of the ship’s register with their person’s name on it,
Reblogged this on ravenhawks' magazine.
π
Interesting to learn more of this place in history
Thanks π
It was my #1 priority to visit when I was in New York nine years ago for a Half Marathon. I am glad to see that the museum has been renovated and I would love to see it once more. I had a father’s uncle who emigrated from Denmark in 1912 and passed through Ellis Island and lived the rest of his life in Seattle, WA
Thanks π. Glad you got to visit!
My father entered the United States twice through Ellis Island, once in 1928, which is when he actually immigrated, and again in 1931 when he was returning from a business trip.
https://operasandcycling.com/german-emigration-center/
Cool π. Thanks for sharing
“Half of todayβs American people are descended from the immigrants who passed this way.” Wow, I had no idea that it was that percentage. We are indeed a nation of immigrants. Thanks. βCurt
Yes indeed ππ»
I just saw a documentary on Ellis Island. I’d love to go and experience this historic place in person. (This – National Parks – is a great idea for a blog!)
Iβm glad you like it and hope you can make it out to Ellis Island someday π