Today, Angel Island State Park^[1] is an uninhabited island in the San Francisco Bay. The only way to get to the island is by boat or ferry^[2] and with its hiking trails, wide roads for biking and majestic views, it is favorite destination on a clear and sunny day.

But Angel Island was not always open to the public. It has been a military fort, a US Quarantine Station and a US Immigration Facility. It was orignally a fishing and hunting site for the Miwok Native American tribe. In 1850 President Millard Fillmore declared Angel Island a military reserve. To protect San Francisco from a potential Confederate naval attack during the Civil War, artillery batteries were installed, and it became an infantry garrison. After the war the US Army designated the entire island as Fort McDowell.

In 1891 a bubonic plague outbreak^[3] in ChinaTown created enough panic throughout the City and the country that, on May 1, 1892, Angel Island’s US Quarantine Station was established. The compound consisted of detention barracks, disinfection facilities, convalescence quarters and a hospital. All Asian passengers and their luggage arriving to the United States by ship were inspected. Additionally, anyone in ChinaTown suspected of having had contact with the sickness was shipped to the island and put into isolation. Six years later, during the Spanish American War, and later during World War I^[4], the quarantine facilities were converted to a discharge depot for returning troops.

In 1905 part of Angel Island was allotted as an Immigration Inspection and Detention Facility. There was a guard tower, an administration building, a hospital, detention barracks, a powerhouse and a wharf. Again targeting only Asians, all those entering the United States were held on Angel Island while their applications were processed. With regards to the Chinese, they were only granted entry if they could prove that they were merchants, clergy, diplomats, teachers, students, or could prove that their husband or father was an American citizen. Detention could range from 2 days to 2 years.  Eighteen percent of those who arrived on the island were deported. The building where they were processed is now a museum. 

In 1940 concerns were raised about the sanitation and safety of both the Quarantine Station and the Immigration Station. The Quarantine Station was permanently closed and when a fire destroyed the administration building and the women’s quarters at the Immigration Station, all immigrants were relocated to a facility in San Francisco. During World War II^[5] it was used to imprison Japanese and German prisoners of war. 

After the war the Army decommissioned the island as a military post; however, in 1954 a Nike missile station^[6] was installed on the top of Mt. Livermore, which was flattened to make way for a helipad and radar station. The missiles, never used, were removed in 1962, and the military permanently left the island. The missile launch pad still exists, though the peak was restored to its original height and shape.

In 1955 California State Parks purchased Angel Island and opened it to the public eight years later. In addition to the hiking and biking trails, there are 11 environmental campsites and a kayak-accessible group site. In 2009, during restoration of the Immigration Station, over 200 poems were found etched into the wooden walls of the men’s barracks. One such poem: 

         America has power, but not justice; In prison, we were victimized as if we were guilty; Given no opportunity to explain, it was really brutal; I bow my head in reflection but there is nothing I can do.

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^[1] Visit them at www.parks.ca.gov or www.Angelisland.org

^[2] Visit them at www.blueandgoldfleet.com

^[3] Bubonic Plague Outbreak: see story coming February 7th

^[4] World War I: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4079

^[5] World War II: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4222

^[6] Nike missiles: https://thesanfranciscophoenix.com/?p=4043

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