Ellis Island
The Golden Door
Stop 1: Arrival
• New arrivals were
taken by ferry to the
main building at Ellis
Island. Opened in
1892, the first
immigrant to arrive was
a 15-year-old girl from
Ireland named Annie
Moore to join her
parents in New York
City.
Not everyone arriving in New York had to go to Ellis Island. Immigrants in
first- and second-class were processed aboard their ships soon after
docking on the mainland. Onboard exams were shorter than those on the
island, since inspectors were more accepting of anyone who could afford
the higher fare.
Most of the immigrants who passed through Ellis Island were poor.
They crammed by the thousands aboard steamships that took weeks
to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Most spent all the money they had just to
ride in third class — called steerage.
Photo: Library of Congress
The single busiest day in Ellis Island history came on April 17, 1907,
when 11,747 immigrants were processed for admission into the
United States. Some of them had been waiting days just to get on to
the island.
Photo: National Park Service/US Dept. of Interior
After 1907, children under 16 had to be accompanied by
their parents or else they would be sent back.
Photo: National Park Service/US Dept. of Interior
On September 27, 1907, so many English and Irish young women arrived at Ellis
Island aboard the steamship Baltic that the New York papers referred to them as
the "1,000 Marriageable Girls." Many of them hoped to find work as domestic
servants or shopkeepers.
Photo: CORBIS
Stop 2: Baggage Claim
• Immigrants entered the
main building through its
ground floor baggage room.
They left their trunks,
suitcases and baskets here
until they were finished.
Immigrants with only a few
belongings carried their
things as they climbed the
stairs to the Great Hall for
medical and legal
examinations.
Children were a common sight at Ellis Island. During its 62 years in
operation, 355 babies were actually born on the island!
Photo: Bettmann/CORBIS
More Italians entered through Ellis Island than any
other group. Between 1892–1954, four million
immigrants arrived from Italy.
Photo: Library of Congress
In addition to Europeans, immigrants of African descent passed
through Ellis Island. Coming mainly from the Caribbean and Cape
Verde, 100,000 of them entered between 1900 and 1920 alone.
Photo: CORBIS
Between 1921–1930, over 100,000 families from
Czechoslovakia came through Ellis Island, up from
just 3,500 a decade before.
Photo: Bettmann/CORBIS
Stop 3:Stairway to the Great Hall
• The first test the immigrants
had to pass became known as
the "six second medical exam."
As the immigrants climbed the
stairs to the Great Hall, doctors
stood at the top and watched.
They were looking for anyone
having difficulty coming up the
steps. If a medical problem or
disability was suspected, one
of seventeen different chalk
marks was put on the person's
clothing. They were then sent
for a full physical examination.
If they weren't marked, they
went on to wait in the Great
Hall.
Medical Chart
• X – Suspected Mental
Defect
• Circled X- Definite
Signs of Mental
Defects
• B – Back
• C- Conjunctivitis
• CT – Trachoma
• E- Eyes
• F- Face
• Ft- Feet
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
G- Goiter
H- Heart
K- Hernia
N- Neck
L- Lameness
P- Physical & Lungs
PG- Pregnancy
SC- Scalp
S- Senility
SI- Special Inquiry
Stop 4: Medical Exam
• By 1917, complete medical
exams were required for
every immigrant. The main
purpose of these exams was
to find persons with
contagious diseases or
conditions that would make
them unable to work. If their
problem was curable,
immigrants were sent to the
island's hospital. If it was not,
the steamship company that
brought them would have to
pay to send them back.
Photo: Library of Congress
The 15 medical buildings of Ellis Island stood across the ferry slip from
the main building, and included hospital wards, operating rooms, an Xray plant, and even a morgue.
Photo: Library of Congress
The dreaded "eye man" was the name immigrants gave to the doctor
who inspected them for trachoma, a highly contagious disease that
caused blindness. Using a hooked tool or his fingers, he would pinch
a person's eyelid, turn it over, and look for any signs of the disease.
Photo: National Park Service/US Dept. of Interior
Any immigrant chalk-marked with an "X" underwent mental exams
that tested their intelligence. Often these exams were wooden
puzzles of the human face. If a person didn't pass, they would be
sent back.
Photo: National Park Service/US Dept. of Interior
Parents were allowed to carry their small children through Ellis Island.
But during the medical exam, all children two years or older were
required to show doctors that they could walk on their own.
Photo: Bettmann/CORBIS
Stop 5: The Great Hall
• The Great Hall was the large
waiting room of Ellis Island.
Immigrants waited here for their
interviews with legal inspectors
after finishing their medical
exams. At best, the entire
process through Ellis Island took
three to five hours. But
sometimes problems came up,
like family members waiting for a
relative to be treated in the
hospital ward. Some families
stayed for days on Ellis Island,
others for weeks, and still others
for months.
Photo: Library of Congress
The dining hall for detainees could seat up to 1,200. The menu
featured beef stew or baked beans, and extra crackers and milk
were provided at each meal for women and children.
Photo: National Park Service/US Dept. of Interior
Many reforms to improve Ellis Island began under President Theodore
Roosevelt. One simple improvement came in 1903 — benches were
added for immigrants to sit on while waiting in the Great Hall.
Photo: Underwood & Underwood/CORBIS
After World War I, beds replaced bunks in the over crowded dormitories.
But men and women still slept in separate dormitories until individual family
bedrooms were added in the late 1920s.
Photo: Bettmann/CORBIS
Over the years, private charitable societies provided classes for children of
detainees on Ellis Island. Volunteers also operated a library and offered
cultural events like music performances to familiarize immigrants with their
new country.
Photo: Underwood & Underwood/CORBIS
Stop 6: Legal Inspection
• After passing the medical
exams, immigrants had to
prove they could legally come
into America. They had to
prove their country of origin
and where they expected to
live and work once they
entered the country.
Inspectors rejected any
immigrant with a criminal
record or those suspected of
being indentured servants. By
1921, immigrants had to pass
a literacy test and show a
passport and visa.
Photo: Library of Congress
Stop 7: Money Exchange
• In the money exchange area
immigrants exchanged the
money of their homeland for
dollars, and purchased any
train tickets they needed.
Laws passed in 1909
required each immigrant to
have at least 20 dollars
before they were allowed to
enter America.
Photo: National Park
Service/US Dept. of
Interior
Immigrants continuing by train to points beyond New York could buy
food for their journey at a concession stand. A box lunch of
sandwiches, fruit, and pie sold for 50 cents — that's well over ten
dollars by today's standards.
Photo: National Park Service/US Dept. of Interior
Often immigrants arrived to the United States dressed in the exotic clothing of
their homeland. This made them easy targets for anyone looking to take
advantage of a recent arrival. To aid their transition, charitable societies offered
immigrants free American-style clothing before they left Ellis Island.
Photo: CORBIS
Women traveling alone were not allowed to leave Ellis Island until
immigration officers felt they were in safe hands. In some cases, concerned
officers took it upon themselves to escort a woman to a connecting train or
proper lodgings in New York City.
Photo: National Park Service/US Dept. of Interior
Stop 8: The Journey’s End
• Just beyond the money
exchange was the exit from Ellis
Island. Staff members referred to
this spot as the kissing post
because of all the emotional
reunions that were witnessed
there. Two thirds of the new
Americans then boarded a ferry
to New Jersey, where the next
leg of their American journey
would begin. The remaining third
took the ferryboat to Manhattan
to begin their new life in New
York City, only one mile away.
Photo: Library of Congress