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State Emigrant Refuge and Hospital

1847 establishments in New York (state)Defunct hospitals in New York CityGovernment buildings in New York CityHistory of ManhattanHistory of immigration to the United States
Psychiatric hospitals in New York (state)Randalls and Wards IslandsUse mdy dates from February 2025
Immigration and the Commissioners of Emigration of the state of New York 146
Immigration and the Commissioners of Emigration of the state of New York 146

The State Emigrant Refuge and Hospital was a New York State immigration complex located on Wards Island in New York City. Established in 1847, it primarily consisted of a public shelter and a hospital, later known as the Verplanck State Emigrant Hospital, both of which served recent immigrant arrivals to the Port of New York. The complex was operated under the authority of the New York State Board of Commissioners of Emigration as part of a network of state-run immigration facilities, which included the State Emigrant Landing Depot at Castle Garden in Lower Manhattan. Recent immigrants to New York were entitled to services at the State Emigrant Refuge and Hospital for up to five years after their arrival. In the 1850s, the State Emigrant Refuge and Hospital was the largest hospital complex in the world. It operated through the late nineteenth century, during a period of increased immigration to New York. The buildings of the complex were later taken over by the Manhattan State Hospital, and have since been demolished. The State Emigrant Refuge and Hospital should not be confused with the New York House of Refuge, a distinct institution that was located on Randalls Island.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article State Emigrant Refuge and Hospital (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

State Emigrant Refuge and Hospital
Rivers Edge Road, New York

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N 40.788333333333 ° E -73.93 °
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Rivers Edge Road
10035 New York
New York, United States
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Immigration and the Commissioners of Emigration of the state of New York 146
Immigration and the Commissioners of Emigration of the state of New York 146
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Randalls and Wards Islands
Randalls and Wards Islands

Randalls Island (sometimes called Randall's Island) and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Islands, in New York County, New York City, separated from Manhattan Island by the Harlem River, from Queens by the East River and Hell Gate, and from the Bronx by the Bronx Kill. The two islands were formerly separated, with Randalls Island to the north of Wards Island. The channel between them, Little Hell Gate, was infilled by the early 1960s. A third, smaller island, Sunken Meadow Island, was located east of Randalls Island and was connected to it in 1955. The island had a population of 1,648 living on 2.09 square kilometers (520 acres) in 2010. Most of the island is parkland, spanning a total of 432.69 acres (175.10 ha), and managed by Randall's Island Park Alliance. The park offers 91 athletic fields, a driving range, greenways, playgrounds and picnic grounds. The island also has a history of being used for asylums, hospitals, and cemeteries, and is currently home to several public facilities, including a psychiatric hospital known as the Manhattan Psychiatric Center, Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center a Drug and Alcohol Treatment facility named Odyssey House, a daycare, 2 state police stations, FDNY fire academy, a DEP wastewater treatment plant, Icahn Stadium, HELP Clarke Thomas Mens Homeless Shelter, Keener Employment Homeless Mens Shelter, Schwartz Homeless Mens Shelter, HELP USA Supportive Employment Center, and an Urban Farm. Outside of these institutions and buildings, there is no residential housing for the general public on the island. The island is crossed by the Triborough and Hell Gate bridges. The island can be reached by the Triborough Bridge; the Wards Island Bridge, which serves pedestrians and bicyclists and links the island to East Harlem in Manhattan; or by the Randalls Island Connector, a pedestrian and cycling bridge crossing the Bronx Kill and connecting to the Port Morris neighborhood of the Bronx. Randalls Island is the home of three music festivals: Governors Ball Music Festival, Panorama Music Festival, and Electric Zoo Festival.