Existing comment:
Ellis Island: From Gateway to Museum:
Over 12 million immigrants entered the United States through Ellis Island, the nation's principal gateway during the years 1892-1954. Many Americans trace their ancestry to immigrants who crossed this island before dispersing to points all across the country.
Following the restoration in the 1980s, this building reopened as a museum dedicated to the nation's immigrant heritage. Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration chronicles Ellis Island's role in immigration history and now views it in the context of global migration and over four centuries of immigration to the United States.
The Baggage Room:
Once they disembarked from the ferries, immigrants crowded into this room where they could check their baggage. With thousands of people going through the inspection process every day, keeping track of immigrants' belongings became a major logistical challenge and lost baggage a common fear. Some immigrants chose to keep their possessions with them, lugging them through the entire inspection routine.
A private concession under government contract operated the baggage-handling service. After immigrants passed inspection, the could arrange with the concession to ship their baggage to a final destination at a fair cost. Immigration officers, however, sometimes discovered concession employees cheating immigrants, charging as much as twice the rate of commercial freight handlers. |