<P> In the 35 years before Ellis Island opened , more than eight million immigrants arriving in New York City had been processed by officials at Castle Garden Immigration Depot in Lower Manhattan , just across the bay . The federal government assumed control of immigration on April 18 , 1890 , and Congress appropriated $75,000 to construct America 's first federal immigration station on Ellis Island . Artesian wells were dug , and fill material was hauled in from incoming ships ' ballast and from construction of New York City 's subway tunnels , which doubled the size of Ellis Island to over six acres . While the building was under construction , the Barge Office nearby at the Battery was used for immigrant processing . </P>
<P> In the 35 years before Ellis Island opened , more than eight million immigrants arriving in New York City had been processed by officials at Castle Garden Immigration Depot in Lower Manhattan , just across the bay . The federal government assumed control of immigration on April 18 , 1890 , and Congress appropriated $75,000 to construct America 's first federal immigration station on Ellis Island . Artesian wells were dug , and fill material was hauled in from incoming ships ' ballast and from construction of New York City 's subway tunnels , which doubled the size of Ellis Island to over six acres . While the building was under construction , the Barge Office nearby at the Battery was used for immigrant processing . </P>
what had ellis island become the site of by 1891
what had ellis island become the site of by 1891
federal immigration station
federal immigration station