Who was the first immigrant processed at New York's Ellis Island station?

Annie Moore was the first immigrant processed at New York's Ellis Island station.

Moore arrived from County Cork, Ireland, on January 1, 1892, aboard the steamship Nevada. She was 17 years old and traveled with her two younger brothers to join their parents in the United States. An American official presented her with a $10 gold piece after she passed inspection.

Ellis Island's federal immigration station opened in New York Harbor that same day. Nearly 700 immigrants passed through the facility on its first day, and more than 400,000 were processed there during the following year. Medical and legal inspections formed part of the admission process.

Ellis Island became the best-known immigration station in the United States, but it was not the nation's only one. The facility closed in 1954 after decades of operation. Annie Moore's story is also a reminder that historical identifications can be complicated: a woman long believed to be the famous Annie Moore was later shown not to be the same person.