Elsie, Ann and Wendy on board the Circle Line ferryboat en-route to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

A view of the skyline of Lower Manhattan from the ferry.

Located in New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty was a gift of international friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States and is one of the most universal symbols of freedom and democracy. France commissioned sculptor Frederic Bartholdi to create the design for the massive undertaking. Realizing he would need the advice of an engineer, Bartholdi sought the help of Eiffel Tower designer Alexandre Eiffel. Bartholdi would create the Statue and Eiffel would build the iron framework to hold it up.

The Statue of Liberty didn't enter New York Harbor until 1885. Once the Americans finished building the pedestal on Fort Wood, as Ellis Island was called back then, the Statue of Liberty was erected in only four months. President Grover Cleveland accepted the Statue in the name of the American people on October 28, 1886, ten years after the Centennial of the Revolution on which date it was dedicated. It was designated a National Monument on October 15, 1924. The Statue was extensively restored in time for her spectacular centennial on July 4, 1986.

View of the Ellis Island Immigration/Museum Building from the ferry.

From 1892 to 1954, over twelve million immigrants entered the United States through the portal of Ellis Island situated in New York Harbour within the shadow of the Statue of Liberty. Through the years, this gateway to the New World was enlarged from its original 3.3 acres to 27.5 acres mostly by landfill obtained from ship ballast and excess earth from the construction of the New York City subway system.

Before being designated as the site of one of the first Federal immigration stations by President Benjamin Harrison in 1890, Ellis Island had a varied history and many names. Due to its rich and abundant oyster beds, it was known as Oyster Island for many generations during the Dutch and English colonial periods. Samuel Ellis became the island's last private owner in the 1770's and the island is named after him.

Ellis Island developed from a sandy island that barely rose above the high tide mark, into a hanging site for pirates, a harbor fort, ammunition and ordinance depot named Fort Gibson, and finally into an immigration station. Truly a checkered past!

The Ellis Island Immigration building contains a fascinating museum which chronicles the journeys, trials, and tribulations of all the immigrants who landed here during that sixty-two year period. There is even a small mountain of old abandoned luggage left behind by the immigrants in the main entrance hall.

We observed many examination rooms where immigrants were screened and examined to ascertain if they had certain diseases. If found to be ill, many were deported back to their homelands and as a result, many families were torn apart forever.