Type: Exhibition case

Name: Immigration

Detail: Immigration is a “defining feature” of the social, economic, and political history of the United States. In 1889, three years before Ellis Island opened as the chief point of entry for immigrants, the Central Railroad of New Jersey constructed a large terminal at Communipaw Cove in Jersey City directly across from Manhattan. In that year alone, 444,427 immigrants entered the country; by 1905, more than one million per year arrived. By 1930, immigration had slacked off to 241,700. The next stop for many of those passing through Ellis Island was the terminal of the Central Railroad or the Pennsylvania Railroad. Thus, millions of people first set foot on the mainland United States in New Jersey. Between 1912 and 1914, a ferry shed and train sheds were added to the CRR terminal. Each day, thousands of immigrants joined thousands of commuters in crossing on ferries to the rail terminals which, like nerve endings, connected to points throughout New Jersey and beyond.

Type: Exhibition caption

Detail: “Birds-eye View of Jersey City, New York Ferries, and Pennsylvania Railroad Station,” Industries of New Jersey, part 1 (New York, 1882), p. 34.