Spokane Valley museum's new Ellis Island exhibit lets visitors learn about their ancestors' journeys

May 2—Many U.S. families can trace ancestors who first arrived in America to Ellis Island, where more than 12 million immigrants came through between 1892 and 1924.

Now through July 31, the Spokane Valley Heritage Museum offers a new exhibit, "The Immigrant Experience: Ellis Island 'The Huddled Masses.' " It also includes details on some Spokane Valley settlers who immigrated to the U.S. from Italy, Greece, Ireland and Germany.

The exhibit focuses on what it was like for those immigrants to leave their homelands, what they went through on voyages and their experiences at Ellis Island, said museum director Jayne Singleton.

"Ellis Island opened in 1892, and approximately 40% of Americans can trace their ancestors to arriving at Ellis Island, based on our research," Singleton said.

"We curated it all. Multiple volunteers were involved with constructing backdrops and the research. It was an idea that we were talking about before COVID, because of two reasons. Our borders and immigration are such controversial topics, and the number of people who are wanting information on ancestors has increased so much.

"We thought, what was it like if your ancestors came through there, like mine did from Belgium, in the early 1900s? Most of the time you could carry only one trunk and you didn't know the language. What was the voyage like, and what were the details so one could pursue the American dream?"

Ellis Island's processing station was in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty, on a different island that today is a short ferry ride away.

Immigrants entering the New York Harbor would see the Statue of Liberty, and the monument soon became associated with the arriving passengers' experience, as was the Emma Lazarus poem eventually added to the statue's base, "The New Colossus," with the phrase, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free ..."

The Ellis Island station closed in 1954. However, by 1924, anti-immigration legislation designed to establish quotas by nationality dramatically reduced the number of immigrants being processed at Ellis Island and entering the United States.

Spokane Valley museum visitors can get help from staff and volunteers to look up ancestors listed on Ellis Island records.

"If they know of ancestors who came through, we can help look up the information," Singleton said. "If they have an idea of spelling on names and a timeframe, more than likely we can come up with results."

The spelling or possible variations on names will help. Singleton said she has ancestors who came through Ellis Island, but she had always heard their last name spelled as Van Paris. When she later looked them up by Van Parys, the records popped up.

There also is history on what the trips on ships were like, and what the immigrants experienced. Upon arriving at Ellis Island, there was a medical exam, Singleton said. A few were turned away for medical reasons and had to return to their homeland, she said.

But those passengers with enough money to sail first class or second class often had few barriers to entry.

"Third class passengers always experienced a much more intense examination and rigid rules," Singleton added. "We also have one of the walls that focuses on the largest immigrant tragedy, the Titanic, and how many third class passengers on that ship perished.

"You get a sense that if you're third class, you experienced far more injustices at the time."

The museum, 12114 E. Sprague Ave., is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Adult admission is $6, with discounts for students, seniors and veterans. For more information, call (509) 922-4570.