<P> TO BE SOLD By Samuel Ellis, no . 1, Greenwich Street, at the north river near the Bear Market, That pleasant situated Island called Oyster Island, lying in New York Bay, near Powle's Hook, together with all its improvements which are considerable;...</P> <P> The State of New York leased the island in 1794 and started to fortify it in 1795 . Ownership was in question and legislation was passed for acquisition by condemnation in 1807 and then ceded to the United States in 1808 . Shortly thereafter the War Department established a circular stone 14 - gun battery, a mortar battery (possibly of six mortars), magazine, and barracks . This was part of what was later called the second system of U.S. fortifications . From 1808 until 1814 it was a federal arsenal . The fort was initially called Crown Fort, but by the end of the War of 1812 the battery was named Fort Gibson, after Colonel James Gibson of the 4th Regiment of Riflemen, killed in the Siege of Fort Erie during the war . Parts of the wall foundations of the fort were uncovered while excavating for the Immigrant Wall of Honor, and they are preserved with an interpretive plaque . The island remained a military post for nearly 80 years before it was selected to be a federal immigration station . </P> <P> In the 35 years before Ellis Island opened, more than eight million immigrants arriving in New York City had been processed by officials at Castle Garden Immigration Depot in Lower Manhattan, just across the bay . The federal government assumed control of immigration on April 18, 1890, and Congress appropriated $75,000 to construct America's first federal immigration station on Ellis Island . Artesian wells were dug, and fill material was hauled in from incoming ships' ballast and from construction of New York City's subway tunnels, which doubled the size of Ellis Island to over six acres . While the building was under construction, the Barge Office nearby at the Battery was used for immigrant processing . </P> <P> The first station was a three - story - tall structure with outbuildings, built of Georgia pine, containing all of the amenities that were thought to be necessary . It opened with celebration on January 1, 1892 . Three large ships landed on the first day, and 700 immigrants passed over the docks . Almost 450,000 immigrants were processed at the station during its first year . On June 15, 1897, a fire of unknown origin, possibly caused by faulty wiring, turned the wooden structures on Ellis Island into ashes . No loss of life was reported, but most of the immigration records dating back to 1855 were destroyed . About 1.5 million immigrants had been processed at the first building during its five years of use . Plans were immediately made to build a new, fireproof immigration station on Ellis Island . During the construction period, passenger arrivals were again processed at the Barge Office . Edward Lippincott Tilton and William A. Boring won the 1897 competition to design the first phase, including the Main Building (1897--1900), Kitchen and Laundry Building (1900--01), Main Powerhouse (1900--01), and the Main Hospital Building (1900--01). </P>

What had ellis island become the site of by 1891