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Immigration to Ellis Island peaked between 1892 and 1924, during which time the 3.3-acre island was enlarged with landfill (by the 1930s it reached its current 27.5-acre size) and additional buildings were constructed to handle the massive influx of immigrants.
Before Ellis Island opened in 1892, the state and city of New York had been welcoming and processing new arrivals since in 1820 at Castle Garden Immigration Depot in lower Manhattan. More than 100 million U.S. citizens trace their ancestry through the Castle Garden experience.