Ellis Island Map

Description:

Description: This map shows where the Ellis Island is located in New York City.

Description: This map shows where the Ellis Island is located in New Jersey.

Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated at the mouth of the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey. It served as the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 to 1954, processing approximately 12 million immigrants during this period. Today, the island hosts a museum of immigration and is part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, administered by the National Park Service.

The island's history as an immigration station began on January 1, 1892, when the first immigrant processed at the new facility was Annie Moore, a 17-year-old girl from Ireland. Before this, the island had various uses, including serving as a fort and ammunition storage site. The original wooden immigration station was destroyed by fire in 1897, and a new fireproof facility opened in December 1900. During peak immigration years, Ellis Island processed up to 5,000 people per day. The immigration station officially closed on November 12, 1954, after immigration policies changed and fewer people were processed through the island.

Following its closure as an immigration station, Ellis Island fell into disrepair until restoration efforts began in the 1980s. The Main Building was reopened to the public in 1990 as the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration. The museum chronicles the history of immigration to the United States and features numerous exhibits, including photographs, artifacts, oral histories, and interactive displays that tell the stories of immigrants who passed through its halls. The building's impressive Registry Room (also known as the Great Hall) has been restored to its appearance during the immigration station's heyday.

In 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the majority of Ellis Island is located within New Jersey's territory, though the original island remains part of New York. This ruling resolved a long-standing dispute between the two states. The south side of the island, where the hospital complex is located, had been closed to the public for decades until limited tours began in 2014. The Ellis Island Hospital Complex includes 29 buildings that once treated immigrants who were deemed too ill to enter the country immediately.

Ellis Island is accessible only by ferry service from either Battery Park in Manhattan or Liberty State Park in New Jersey. The island receives approximately 3 million visitors annually as part of the broader Statue of Liberty National Monument. For many Americans, Ellis Island represents a personal connection to their family history, as roughly 40% of current U.S. citizens can trace at least one ancestor who passed through this historic gateway to America.