Welcome to the Angel Island Immigration Station! From 1910-1940, an estimated one million immigrants came through here on their way to America, but only roughly 75% made it through. This Virtual will take you on a very short tour of the history of the facillity, and tell some of the stories of the immigrants who made it through, and others who weren't so fortunate.
In 1850, President Fillmore declared Angel Island, the second largest island in San Francisco Bay, to be a military reserve. Indeed, during the Civil War, the island was fortified to defend San Francisco Bay from possible attack by Confederate forces. In the 19th century, new arrivals to the U.S. entering at the Port of San Francisco were housed and processed in quarters located at the Pacific Mail Steamship Company docks on the San Francisco waterfront. After the quarters at the docks proved inadequate and unsanitary, a study, authorized in 1904, recommended building a new immigration station on the isolated and nearby Angel Island. In 1905, the War Department transferred 20 acres of land on the north shore of the island, facing away from San Francisco, to the Department of Labor and Commerce as the site for the new immigration station. Architect Walter J. Mathews designed the station compound to include an enclosed detention center with an outdoor area and guard tower as well as an administration building, hospital, powerhouse and wharf, which was later known as China Cove.
Angel Island Immigration Station, sometimes known as "Ellis Island of the West," began construction in 1905 and opened January 21, 1910. Construction of the facility involved leveling a former Coast Miwok village site and shell mound, including the interred remains of numerous people. The main difference between Ellis Island and Angel Island was that the majority of the immigrants that traveled through Angel Island were from Asian countries, such as China, Japan, and India. The facility was created to monitor the flow of Chinese immigrants entering the country after the implementation of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. The Act only allowed entrance to merchants, clergy, diplomats, teachers, and students, barring laborers.
The Immigation Station was in operation for thirty years; however, there were many concerns about sanitation and for the safety of the immigrants at Angel Island. The safety concern was proved to be warranted when, in 1940, fire destroyed the administration building and women's quarters. As a result, all the immigrant detainees, about 200, were relocated to a landlocked facility in San Francisco and the former Immigration Station was returned to the U.S. Army. During World War II it served as a prisoner of war processing center and denoted as North Garrison. In 1943, Congress finally repealed the Chinese Exclusion Act.
Nowadays, the Immigration Station is just over a mile walk/hike round trip from the ferry dock, but seems to be quite undervisited with all the history here. To log this Virtual, you must visit the four points of interest (see "Waypoints," all very close to the posted coordinates) and message me the answers to each question:
1. The Wharf (GZ, N 37° 52.213′ W 122° 25.585′) - What is the last thing listed that the immigrants were immersed in?
2. Immigration Station Model (N 37° 52.201′ W 122° 25.577′) - Note how little space the immigrants had to stay in during their time here: just the one detention building. In contrast, how many employee cottages (some have been removed from the model, count those too) are there on the 3D model? Make sure you find them all!
3. Interrogation and Testimony (N 37° 52.199′ W 122° 25.570′) - What is the second of the ridiculous questions asked by officers, listed under "Interrogation Transcripts"?
4. Commemorative Monument (N 37° 52.212′ W 122° 25.537′) - Finish the monument inscription, translated on the nearby sign: "They pioneered a new life by the..." (two words).
Logs that don't message me with answers are subject to deletion.
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.