A "Rosy-Cheeked Irish Girl" Makes History

Though Irish immigration peaked during the mid-19th century, thousands of Irish immigrants still flooded the shores of the East Coast. The end of the 19th century saw a drastic change and reform in the ways of immigration. That change was the establishment of the first Federal immigration depot located at the port of Ellis Island in New York Harbor (1). Rather than individual states regulating immigration into the United States, there was now an official port for immigrants to be processed by officials.

Ellis Island circa 1892