Did you know...
That Ellis Island opened January 1, 1892 and even though it was not finished, seven hundred immigrants came that day. Five years later in 1897 a fire broke out, and the new main building was reopened on December 17, 1900. Between 1901 and 1910 over two million immigrants came from Italy. During the sixty-five years that Ellis Island was in operation, 355 babies were born, but more than 3,500 immigrants died there including 1,400 children. It is with good reason that Ellis Island was known as the Island of Hope to some, and the Island of Tears to others!