# 3649e - 2002 37c Masters of American Photography: Lewis W. Hine

The station officially opened on January 1, 1892. Three large ships arrived that day, with over 700 immigrants aboard them.  Reportedly, 17-year-old Annie Moore was the first person processed at the new station.  Moore and her two younger brothers had come to the United States from County Cork, Ireland, on the steamship the SS Nevada. They had crossed the Atlantic to reunite with their parents who had previously immigrated and taken up residence in New York City.

Over the course of the first year, Ellis Island processed about 450,000 immigrants.  But that quickly slowed down to less than 20,000 each year.  The screening process took from three to seven hours. Doctors inspected the newcomers in the Registry Room. During these “six-second physicals” the physicians looked for infectious diseases, but also became adept at diagnosing anemia, goiters, and other conditions.  In addition to rating each immigrant’s physical condition, a legal inspection was also done. Before leaving their homeport, people had filled out a 29-question document, which was screened by an inspector. Those who the inspectors thought would be burdens to society were often deported.

Disaster struck on June 15, 1897, when a fire destroyed the wooden buildings on Ellis Island.  The government immediately announced that new, fireproof buildings would be built to replace them.  The new main immigration building opened on December 17, 1900, with several other buildings constructed shortly after.  It was soon decided the island’s size would need to be increased to make room for a new hospital complex.

The main hospital building opened in March 1902 but didn’t have enough space or equipment to handle the unbelievable number of patients.  In the next seven years, a hospital administration building was built, a new hospital extension, a ward for immigrants with mental illnesses, a contagious disease hospital, and isolation wards.  The original three-acre island grew to over twenty-seven acres using sediment emptied from ocean-going ships and possibly excess dirt from the building of New York City’s subways.

By 1924, the number of immigrants allowed to enter the United States had been significantly reduced as a result of new quota laws.  These policies put a huge strain on Ellis Island as there were now thousands of immigrants stranded on its grounds while they waited to be deported.  There were times when the overcrowding became too much and officials were forced to admit more people into the country than was legally allowed, according to the quotas.