Can You Pass This Quiz on the History of Ellis Island?

In 1982, President Ronald Reagan announced the creation of a new foundation to oversee renovations to both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. To run the new organization, he selected Lee Iacocca, who made a name for himself as the CEO of Chrysler Automotive, helping the company return to profitability from the brink of bankruptcy in the early 1980s.

In 1897, a fire burned down many of the original wood buildings on Ellis Island. As part of a larger improvement project that included rebuilding the structures to be fireproof, the island was expanded by landfill between 1905 and 1906. Another landfill expansion in 1934 took the island to its present size of 27.5 acres. The island’s original size was only about 3.3 acres.

Benjamin Harrison’s presidential term (1889 to 1892) is remembered as a time of American expansion on multiple fronts. Not only did his administration open Ellis Island in the last year of his term, but the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho, and Wyoming were all admitted to the country during his time in office.

Ettore Boiardi — better known as “Chef Boyardee” — came to the U.S. from Italy in 1914 at the age of 16. He worked as a chef in New York before opening his own restaurant in 1926. After frequent requests from patrons for his sauce, Boiardi invested in a factory to produce a sauce brand named after the phonetic spelling of his name. He sold the business in 1946 but remains on most of its product labels.

Before becoming an immigration hub in 1892, Ellis Island was used as a naval storage depot. The Army had troops on the island during both world wars, and it was used as a Coast Guard training station during World War II, from 1939 through 1946. In 1951, the Coast Guard used some of the island’s old buildings as offices, but they were shut down in 1954, marking the end of the island’s military’s history.

Angel Island, located just north of Alcatraz, was the United States’ main West Coast immigration processing facility between 1910 and 1940. About 500,000 immigrants from 80 different countries entered the U.S. through Angel Island, many from Asia and the Pacific Islands. Today, the island hosts exhibits of poetry and oral histories passed down by immigrants, honoring their many contributions to the nation.

The U.S. government stopped using Ellis Island for immigration purposes in November 1954. Afterward, no one was sure what to do with it — ideas ranged from using it as a prison to a museum or university. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright had another idea: a futuristic city. Though he never created formal plans, napkin sketches by Wright included towering apartment buildings as well as a 500-room hotel, a nightclub, a planetarium, and a sports stadium.

The first group of people to occupy Ellis Island was the Algonquian peoples, who frequently visited the island to harvest its rich oyster population. Oysters and other types of fish were also prevalent on nearby Liberty Island. When the Dutch established a settlement in Manhattan in the early 1600s, they referred to both Ellis and Liberty as “Oyster Island.”

Beginning in 1855, people arriving in the United States were processed at the southern tip of Manhattan, in a waterfront fort called Castle Clinton built for protection just before the War of 1812. Today, the Battery — previously called Battery Park — is one of the most popular attractions in New York City and serves as the docking point for boats visiting the Statue of Liberty.

Prior to its famous role as an immigration processing facility, Ellis Island had a long military history. In 1808, the island came under federal control to help streamline the process of building fortifications there. By the War of 1812, Ellis Island had a barracks, magazine, and battery for defense. The troops on the island never saw combat, but the island remained an important military outpost for decades after.

In 1833, a pact between the states of New York and New Jersey recognized Ellis Island as part of New York; that ruling was confirmed by a federal court in 1992. In response, New Jersey appealed to the Supreme Court, sparking a legal battle between the neighboring states that lasted nearly five years. The court ruled that the island’s original area belonged to New York, while the rest of the land — about 83% — was in New Jersey.

Millions of immigrants came to the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries, fleeing repressive regimes or seeking opportunities that weren’t available in their home countries. Some of the world’s biggest stars from that time entered the U.S. through Ellis Island, including Irving Berlin, Claude McKay, Cary Grant, Bob Hope, and Charlie Chaplin.

Named for the British explorer who mapped it in 1609, the Hudson River flows the entire length of the state of New York, originating in its mountainous upstate area near the border with Vermont. From there, it flows to the southern tip of Manhattan, where it merges with the Atlantic Ocean. Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and Governor’s Island are all found in this area, also called the New York Bay.

After the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) closed its offices on Ellis Island, the land was declared surplus federal property. The government solicited proposals for the island, but none met the federal asking price. At the same time, public sentiment to make Ellis Island a cultural memorial was increasing. In 1965, it was made part of the Statue of Liberty per the Antiquities Act, and became part of the National Park Service.

On January 1, 1892, Ellis Island officially opened as the main immigration hub for people arriving from Europe to the United States. Over the next 62 years, more than 12 million immigrants came to America through Ellis Island, greeted by the towering Lady Liberty. For many, the statue was a symbolic welcome to their new life in a place that offered opportunity and religious freedom.