In the late 1800s and early 1900s Ellis Island served as the major immigration station in the United States. The island, in Upper New York Bay, lies about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) southwest of Manhattan Island, part of New York City, and just east of the New Jersey shore. It covers an area of about 27 acres (11 hectares).
The island was named for Manhattan merchant Samuel Ellis, who owned it in the 1770s. In 1808 the state of New York sold the island to the federal government. The immigration center opened in 1892. Between then and 1924 more than 12 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island, where they were examined by doctors and processed by government officials. Most people were given permission to enter the United States, but the very ill or disabled were turned away. Rejected immigrants had to return to their homeland.
Ellis Island declined in importance after 1924, when Congress passed a law that made it more difficult to immigrate to the United States. After immigration reception was moved to New York City proper in 1943, Ellis Island continued to serve as a detention station for people who were having immigration problems. In 1954 the center on Ellis Island closed. The island became part of Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1965 and was reopened to tourists in 1976. In the 1980s the government restored the island’s buildings. The Main Building is now the site of the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. (See also immigration to the United States.)