Daily AncestorCastle Garden
Castle Garden was New York's immigrant landing depot at the Battery from 1855 to 1890, where about 8 million people entered before Ellis Island opened.
The old fort at the tip of Manhattan, now Castle Clinton, opened as a landing depot on August 3, 1855. New York State's emigration commissioners ran it, and about two of every three immigrants to the U.S. in those years passed through.
It closed on April 18, 1890, as the federal government took over immigration. Many state and federal immigration records from 1855 on burned in the 1897 Ellis Island fire, so customs passenger lists are the main source for arrivals in the Castle Garden years.
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Castle Garden." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/immigration/castle-garden. Last checked 2026-10-03.