Timeline for New York Immigration Points

August 1, 1855- April 18, 1890 - Castle Garden: New York State founded the United States' first center for processing arriving immigrants in 1855. It was established on an island off the southwest tip of Manhattan - Castle Garden. It was hoped that a receiving station off the mainland would serve two purposes : to prevent people with contagious diseases from entering the country and help protect arriving immigrants from the hazards of fraud, robbery, and deceit when they first arrived.

April 19, 1890-Dec. 31, 1891 -Barge Office:  On April 18, 1890 the Secretary of the Treasury terminated the contract with the New York State Commissioners of Emigration and assumed control of immigration of the harbor. New York officials were very upset , and refused to allow the government to use Castle Garden for immigration. Therefore, on April 19, 1890, the U.S. government established a temporary processing center for immigrants at the Old Barge Office at the southeast foot of Manhattan near the U.S. Customs House. A small , swampy piece of federally owned property was given to the Treasury Deptment to build the first federal immigrant receiving station. It was called Ellis Island. In 1891, the federal government assumed jurisdiction over all ports, not just New York, so processing centers were also  established at other ports.

January 1, 1892- June 13, 1897 - Ellis Island: Ellis Island opened on January 1, 1892. It was constructed entirely of wood, was three stories high, and was designed to handle up to 10,000 immigrants per day.

June 14, 1897 - Dec 16, 1900 - Barge Office: Just before midnight on June 14, 1897, a fire broke out in the all-wooden building on Ellis Island and it burned to the ground. No ship records were destroyed since they were kept elsewhere, but all other administrative records for 1855 to 1890 were lost. The old Barge Office was again used as a processing center for 3 1/2 years while the new Ellis Island building was built. A New York Times Magazine article (August 14,1898) describing immigration at the Barge Office may be available at your local library.

December 17, 1900-1924 -Ellis Island: On December 17, 1900, the new steel, brick, and stone building on Ellis Island opened. However, it was too small from the start and would have to be expanded many times.