The speaker for the day was John Clagett,  resident Historian/ Interpreter at Angel Island State Park, who took us on a walking tour of the historic Immigration Station.  The park is open Fridays through Sundays, accessible from Tiburon or SF ferries.  John warned us that service can be sketchy and schedules are subject to change at this time.

 

The focus of John's presentation was the time period 1910-1940, during which period Angel Island served as the primary immigration station for the West Coast.  In 1940 the large Administration Building burned and immigration administration shifted back to San Francisco.  Angel Island features a very thought-provoking Immigration Museum, closed due to pandemic for present but scheduled to reopen in mid-June.  The only larger immigration station in the U.S. was Ellis Island during Angel Island's years of operation.  This immigration facility served in large part to enforce the Chinese Exclusion Act, a retrograde legislative policy that not only severely limited the "classifications" of Chinese eligible to enter the U.S., but also gave license to administrative personnel to deny entry to many who should have qualified to enter. After WWII, the barracks also served to house Japanese and German prisoners of war as well as Japanese "picture brides."'