yes Ellis island burned down on June 15, 1897 becaue of a kitchen fire
The original Ellis Island facility built in 1892 was made almost entirely of Georgia Pine. Although the rosin was removed from the 400 ft. long floor, this oily flammable sap remained in the walls. The building was a tinderbox and burned in less than two hours in the early morning hours of June 15th 1897.
The original Ellis Island Immigration Station opened on New Year's Day 1892. It burned to the ground just 5 years later, on June 15, 1897. Construction of the present-day Ellis Island Immigration Station (which is now the Ellis Island Immigration Museum) started almost immediately after the original one burned down. Edward Lippincott Tilton and William A. Boring won the design competition in 1897, and by 1900, the Main Building was completed. The Main Powerhouse, Hospital Building and Kitchen and Laundry Buildings were all completed in 1901.
Fortunately, there were only 200 people on Ellis Island the night of June 14, 1897. Shortly after midnight, without warning, a disastrous fire broke out. The buildings of pine went up in flames as if they had been made of paper. The slate roof of the main building crashed in within an hour and by dawn there was hardly a trace of the station left. Yet, not one life was lost.
Miss Ellis Island - 2012 was released on: USA: 7 June 2012 (Los Angeles, California)
Edward Sylvester Ellis died on June 20, 1916, in Cliff Island, Maine, USA.
On the evening of June 14, 1897 there was a HUGE fire that burned the entire immigration center to the ground. No lives were lost but many immigration files dating back to 1855 burned along with the pine building. It was quickly rebuilt and reopened December 18, 1900.
They were screened to insure that entry was denied to persons with a loathsome or dangerous contagious disease. Mental health was checked, eyes were checked, and if every condition for entry was met, they were allowed to enter.
Helene Rosson was born on June 14, 1897, in Newport, Rhode Island, USA.
The Troubadour - 1897 was released on: USA: June 1897
Monumental Mysteries - 2013 Ellis Island Sailing Stones Alamo Treasure 1-6 was released on: USA: 13 June 2013
Trial Scene - 1897 was released on: USA: June 1897