{"id":8337,"date":"2024-08-23T14:17:21","date_gmt":"2024-08-23T14:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newyorktour1.com\/blog\/?p=8337"},"modified":"2024-08-23T16:06:26","modified_gmt":"2024-08-23T16:06:26","slug":"ellis-island-numbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/ellis-island-numbers\/","title":{"rendered":"Facts About Ellis Island: 11 Numbers on Immigration and More"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Today, Ellis Island is a symbol \u2014 like the Statue of Liberty<\/a> \u2014 of American immigration, and a site for many citizens to trace and celebrate their family\u2019s heritage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between 1892 and 1954, it was the main port of immigration for passengers from Europe and other countries who made the long journey across the Atlantic to start a new life in the United States. The Ellis Island museum is a testament to the more than 12 million people who passed through this port of entry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only can you search through a collection of immigration records in the Family History Center and add your family name to the Wall of Honor, but you\u2019ll get a sense of how much America\u2019s immigration process has changed. For one, the process was extremely fast. Even during its busiest year in 1907, the officials at Ellis Island processed 80% of passengers in just a few hours. Compare that to all the paperwork and time immigration requires today! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ellis Island\u2019s history is filled with interesting facts and figures. Let\u2019s take a look at the numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t

\n\t\t
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\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\"Guide\n\t\t\t\"Guide\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe global award-winning tour of New York\u2019s two most iconic landmarks<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Guided Tour<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tLearn More\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n

17 years old<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first immigrant to set foot on Ellis Island was 17-year-old Annie Moore.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Annie Moore was from County Cork, Ireland, and she arrived at Ellis Island with her two younger brothers on New Year\u2019s Day in 1892. They arrived on the steamship Nevada with 124 other passengers, and the three were reuniting with their parents and two other siblings who had already arrived in New York. Be sure to look out for the statue of Annie and her brothers at the museum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.3 acres<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"Aerial<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Ellis Island was originally 3.3 acres before it was expanded to accommodate more people.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To increase the size of Ellis Island from 3.3 acres to the 27.5 acres it is today, fill dirt was added to make more space for the growing number of immigrants who needed to be housed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 years<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Ellis Island was operational for five years before a fire in 1897.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ellis Island had only been accepting immigrants for five years before the facility burned down in 1897. The buildings and records from 1892-1897 were destroyed, but it was rebuilt with fireproof materials in 1900 and started accepting immigrants again soon after its completion \u2014 the new main building also cost about $1.5 million to construct. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

11.8 million people<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ellis Island welcomed more than 11.8 million people between 1880 and 1930<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From 1880-1930, over 27 million immigrants entered the United states, and more than 40% of them came through Ellis Island. That\u2019s about 11.8 million people!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5,000 immigrants<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Grayscale<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ellis Island processed an average of 5,000 American immigrants a day.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, the parts of Europe people came from varied, as they were often escaping economic hardship and, sometimes, even persecution. Not only were immigration officials processing an average of 5,000 people a day at Ellis Island, but they were able to process most immigrants in just a few hours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

29 questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ship passengers answered 29 questions for their immigration interview.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A manifest log was created at a ship\u2019s point of departure, which included every passenger\u2019s answers to 29 questions that included information like their name, age, occupation, and destination. These logs would be used by legal officials to interview immigrants during inspection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

6 seconds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Greyscale<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Immigrants received a 6-second physical from doctors at Ellis Island.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These inspections took place in the Registry Room (today the Great Hall) and involved a six-second physical, where doctors would glance at passengers and determine whether they were healthy enough to leave or had to be detained. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supposedly, doctors at Ellis Island became adept at diagnosing everything from anemia to trachoma (a highly-contagious eye infection) just by looking at someone.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

11,747-person record<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ellis Island processed 11,747 people in one day in 1907.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1907, 1.25 million immigrants were processed at Ellis Island, but its busiest day was April 17, 1907, when 11,747 people passed through. This marked an all-time record for the most immigrants processed at Ellis Island in a single day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around 40%<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Around 33%-40% of Americans can trace their family heritage to Ellis Island.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it\u2019s a myth that every United States citizen today has an ancestor who arrived at Ellis Island, experts believe that anywhere from 33% to 40% of Americans can find at least one ancestor who passed through this NYC port. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1954<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Ellis<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As an immigration center, Ellis Island closed in 1954.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the peak years of immigration \u2014 between 1892 and 1924 \u2014 Ellis Island was used as a detention center during World War I and World War II. The 1950s saw a greater drop-off in immigrants coming through the port, so the Federal Government stopped funding Ellis Island. Its doors eventually closed in 1954. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 million visitors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Harbor<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

More than 2 million people visit Ellis Island each year.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration is one of New York\u2019s most popular attractions, even though it takes a ferry to get here. Over 2 million tourists and locals visit the island each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it opened again to the public in 1976, it wasn\u2019t turned into a tourist attraction until 1990.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ellis Island and Liberty Island, better together<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Want to make your Ellis Island experience even better? Our Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Tour<\/a> combines Ellis Island with a visit to Liberty Island, so you get to see two iconic NYC landmarks in one day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While you\u2019re here, we hope you can join us for some of our other NYC tours<\/a> too. Whether you want to honor the memories of those who lost their lives at the 9\/11 Memorial<\/a> or take a bus tour through New York\u2019s different boroughs<\/a>, we\u2019ve got you covered. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, Ellis Island is a symbol \u2014 like the Statue of Liberty \u2014 of American immigration, and a site for many citizens to trace and celebrate their family\u2019s heritage.  Between 1892 and 1954, it was the main port of immigration for passengers from Europe and other countries who made the long journey across the Atlantic<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":35754,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8337"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8337"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36236,"href":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8337\/revisions\/36236"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.exp1.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}