12 Million People Walked Through This Door — Ellis Island (1892)
From 1892 to 1954, 12 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island. About 40 percent of Americans have an ancestor who came through here.
Next to the Statue of Liberty
New York Harbor. Two kilometers from the Statue of Liberty.
A small island. Named Ellis.
January 1, 1892. The first immigrant arrived. Annie Moore, an Irish girl, age 15.
The Gate of Inspection
Immigrants stepped off their ships and lined up.
Doctors watched. The way they walked. Their eyes. Any coughing.
Six seconds per person. Pass or quarantine.
About 2 percent were turned away.
The Names Changed
There's a legend. That hard-to-pronounce names were changed to American ones here.
Most of that isn't true. Immigrants changed their own names.
But many people did leave this island with a new identity.
62 Years
1892 to 1954.
12 million people passed through. At its peak, 5,000 a day.
Italians. Jews. Poles. Greeks. Hungarians.
The process by which America became a multiethnic nation.
Today
Ellis Island is now a museum.
Visitors can search for their ancestors' immigration records.
About 40 percent of Americans have an ancestor who came through Ellis Island.
Operating years: 1892–1954 | Total arrivals: ~12 million | First immigrant: Annie Moore (Ireland, age 15)
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