What was Ellis Island?

The small 3.3 acres of land in the Hudson River known to the Mohegan Indians in early 1600’s as Kioshk or Gull Island was a famous fishing area. Until it was renamed Oyster Island for its abundance in shellfish by Michael Paauw, a Dutch man who acquired ownership of the island in 1630. The island was then renamed in the 1700’s, as Gibbet or Gallows Island, it is said that the gallows trees were used to hang men convicted of piracy on the island during that time. 75 years later the island was bought by a New York merchant named Samuel Ellis which is how the name Ellis Island was birthed. Samuel built huts on the land to accommodate local fisher men, after his death in 1794, his family gained ownership of the Island who later sold it to the state of New York for $10,000. This was around the time of the Revolutionary war and the U.S Department saw great potential in Ellis Island located in the middle of the Hudson River opening into the Atlantic Ocean, they paid the state for its use, and beginning the war of 1812, they build military fortifications and stored ammunition on the Island. Few years later they used it as a munitions arsenal for the Union army during the Civil war. Over the years, the activities of the island evolved, and a wide variety of name changes but from the 1700’s to date it is still “Ellis Island”. By 1954, the island was enlarged to 27.5 acres of land, landfilled with excess earth from the construction of the New York City subway and ship ballast.

Work Cited

History “This Day in History Ellis Island” http://www.history.com/topics/ellis-island