After the American Revolution, it didn’t take long for problems with England to begin brewing once again. By the 1790s, British troops still occupied forts in the Northwest Territories that Great Britain had pledged to leave at the end of the war, and the British Navy was capturing American merchant ships that were doing business with France—with which it was at war—then forcing the crew into service in the British Navy, a practice called impressment (the British claimed these men were actually deserters from the British military). In addition, Great Britain had closed the British West Indies to American traders.
With a possibility of another war on the horizon, the United States began to beef up coastal defenses at major port cities in the early 1790s, a plan that is now called the First System of Coastal Defenses. New forts were built and existing forts were brought up to modern standards. The original Fort Jay on Governors Island was constructed at this time, as was a fort of wood and earth on Ellis Island when it was still owned by the Ellis family. The island was first occupied by Europeans in 1630 when the Dutch purchased it from local Indians. It changed hands a number of times, with the last private owner being Samuel Ellis. Descendants of Ellis would go on to sell the island to New York State in 1808, which in turn transferred ownership to the United States government.
In the fall of 1794, President George Washington sent John Jay, the current U. S. Supreme Court Chief Justice, to negotiate with the British. Details of the treaty had been authored by Alexander Hamilton. The two countries signed what would become known as the Jay Treaty on November 19, 1794, though it wouldn’t be until June 1795 that the United States Senate ratified the treaty.
The Jay Treaty was authorized for ten years, after which time it would have to be renegotiated. While it was successful in removing the British from forts in the Northwest Territories and reopening trade between the two countries—and most importantly, staving off war for the time being—it did nothing to stop impressment. When the treaty expired in 1805 and was replaced with the Monroe-Pinkney Treaty, President Thomas Jefferson, a staunch opponent of the original Jay Treaty, refused to even submit the new treaty to the Senate for ratification. This soon renewed tensions with the British, prompting the United States to upgrade its coastal defenses for a second time, a construction phase known as the Second System of Coastal Defenses.
In New York Harbor, construction on four forts began in 1806: Fort Wood on what is today Liberty Island, the Southwest Battery (aka Castle Clinton) located just 200 feet off the southwestern tip of Manhattan, and Castle Williams and Fort Columbus on Governors Island. Fort Columbus was built on the site of the original Fort Jay, incorporating some features of the existing fort while demolishing others (the fort was renamed because by that time John Jay was no longer looked upon favorably due to his treaty, which was never really popular with the public). In addition to these forts, the fort on Ellis Island was upgraded to meet Second System requirements—work was completed in 1811. It was named Fort Gibson in 1814 after Colonel James Gibson, who was killed in the War of 1812 at the Battle of Fort Erie that same year.
Fort Gibson was armed with 13 cannon and had a 182-man garrison. However, like all New York Harbor forts, it never saw any action during the War of 1812, though it was used to house British prisoners.
After the War of 1812, Ellis Island continued as a military base. In 1861, just before the start of the Civil War, the actual fort was dismantled and large powder magazines were built to store the Navy’s massive supply of gunpowder, an amount too dangerous to be stored at the Navy Yard in Brooklyn.
In the late 1880s, a magazine article came out in Harper’s Weekly and was followed by stories in the New York newspapers about the 10,000 pounds of gunpowder on the Ellis Island. This alarmed the public, for an explosion could destroy parts of New York City, New Jersey, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. About this same time, the New York State immigration office at Castle Garden—the former Castle Clinton—was being overwhelmed by an influx of immigrants. In 1890, the Federal government took over immigration issues altogether, and to appease the public, it decided to move the powder magazines to Fort Wadsworth and turn Ellis Island into a new immigration station. Construction began on the facility, which at first was an entirely wooden complex, and it opened on January 1, 1892. The Main Immigration Building sat on the location of the old Fort Gibson.
Ellis Island closed as an immigration depot in 1954, and for the next twenty plus years the buildings stood empty. While the island became part of Statue of Liberty National Monument in 1965, nothing was done to preserve the deteriorating buildings until a restoration project on the main building began in 1984. When the excavation for the American Immigrant Wall of Honor was done, part of the old fort wall was unearthed. It had been buried years ago by the landfill that was used to expand Ellis Island. Today a section of the wall can be seen in the round field bounded by the Wall of Honor.
With a few exceptions, use of any photograph on the National Park Planner website requires a paid Royalty Free Editorial Use License or Commercial Use License. See the Photo Usage page for details.
Last updated on November 19, 2021