Incredible Photos Of Immigrants Arriving At Ellis Island

The New York Immigration Station

After the end of the Civil War, Ellis Island remained vacant for a while until the U.S. government made the decision to replace Ellis Island’s predecessor, the New York immigration station at Castle Garden. The immigration station closed in 1890 and the federal government allotted $75,000 for a new immigration station at Ellis Island. Much of the island that is in existence today is actually man made; artesian wells were dug on the island and its total size was doubled making the island over six acres large. All of the renovations made to the island made it an ideal spot for the new immigration center.