tier of casemates and the east bastion had two tiers. In the 1870s additional earthworks to accommodate 10-inch and 15-inch Rodman guns were constructed, but only some of these were completed due to a national freeze on fort construction in the late 1870s. Fort Scammell was not re-armed in the Spanish–American War of 1898, and was listed as disarmed in a 1903 report. Two emplacements for anti-aircraft guns were added in 1917, probably for the 3-inch gun M1917. Of all the forts in Casco Bay, Fort Scammell was the only fort to fire a shot and be fired upon in battle, in early August 1813. Immigration Quarantine Station The island was later the site of an immigration quarantine station from 1907 to 1937, and was considered the 'Ellis Island of the North'. The quarantine station was busiest in the early 1920s, after the adoption of the Emergency Quota Act, which restricted the number of immigrants who could enter the country. In November 1923, the ships President Polk and George Washington were diverted from New York City to Portland, and 218 immigrants from those ships were quarantined at the station. Many of the immigrants were Jews from Russia. Jewish immigrant women from Portland built a kosher kitchen on the island. The island was considered "ideal" by immigration officials. A Grand Trunk Railway station was located at the docks in Portland, allowing easy rail access for immigrants arriving in Portland. Additionally, William Husband, Commissioner General of United States Immigration, said the whole island was secure and "The whole of House Island was available in that case, instead of those detained being obliged to go out under guard with only few patches of green grass upon which they might set foot, as at some other places." The 1920 brick detention barracks have been demolished, but the original 1907 buildings remain, including the doctor's house, the detention barracks, and the quarantine hospital. See also List of islands of Maine Seacoast defense in the United States List of coastal fortifications of the United States Harbor Defenses of Portland References Documentary History of the State of Maine, Containing the Farnham Papers, Mary Frances Farnham, Maine Historical Society, 1901 Maine's Casco Bay Islands: A Guide, Nance Trueworthy, David A. Tyler, Down East Books, 2007 "3000 Immigrants Due at Portland for November Quota," The Daily Kennebec Journal, October 30, 1923 "25 Years Ago Today," Portland Press Herald, November