House Island, Maine 1853987 221285345 2008-06-23T21:20:47Z Michael Devore 44833 rvv;[[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 221260360 by [[Special:Contributions/130.113.57.230|130.113.57.230]] ([[User talk:130.113.57.230|talk]]) [[Image:Fort Scammel 06-25-2005.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Fort Scammel, as seen from House Island]] '''House Island''' is a private island in [[Portland, Maine|Portland]] harbor in [[Casco Bay]], [[Maine]]. The island is only accessible via private boat. Public access is prohibited, except for an on request tour sanctioned by the island's owners. House Island includes 3 buildings on the east side and Fort Scammel on the west side. The buildings are used as summer residences. The island's name derives from the fact it was the site of an early European house. ==Fort Scammel== Henry A.S. Dearborn built '''Fort Scammel''' on the island in [[1808]] as part of the national second system of fortifications. It was named after [[Alexander Scammel]], [[Adjutant general]] of the [[Continental Army]] during the [[ American Revolutionary War]], who was killed in action during the [[Battle of Yorktown (1781)|Battle of Yorktown]]. The fort was designed for harbor defense, with cannon batteries designed to protect the main shipping channel into Portland harbor, along with [[Fort Preble]]. [[Thomas Lincoln Casey]], known for his work on the [[Washington Monument]] rebuilt the fort in [[1862]] in preparation for the [[US Civil War]]. ==Immigration Quarantine Station== The island was later the site of an immigration [[quarantine]] station from [[1907]] to [[1937]], and was considered the '[[Ellis Island]] of the North'. The quarantine station was busiest in the early 1920s, after the adoption of the [[Emergency Quota Act]], which restricted the number of immigrants who could enter the country. In November 1923 the ships ''President Polk'' and ''George Washington'' were diverted from [[New York City]] to Portland{{ref|Kennebec_1}}, and 218 immigrants from those ships were quarantined at the station.{{ref|Herald_1}} The island was considered "ideal"{{ref|Kennebec_2}} by immigration officials. A [[Grand Trunk Railway]] station was located at the docks in Portland, allowing easy rail access for immigrants arriving in Portland. Additionally, William Husband, Commissioner General of United States Immigration said the whole island was secure, and "The whole of House Island was available in that case, instead of those detained being obliged to go out under guard with only few patches of green grass upon which they might set foot, as at some other places."{{ref|Kennebec_2}} The brick hospital was demolished, but three original quarantine buildings remain, including a doctor's house, and a detention building. ==External links== *[http://www.HouseIslandMaine.com www.HouseIslandMaine.com] ==References== <!-- How to add a footnote: NOTE: Footnotes in this article use names, not numbers. Please see [[Wikipedia:Footnotes]] for details. 1) Assign your footnote a unique name, for example TheSun_Dec9. 2) Add the macro {{ref|TheSun_Dec9}} to the body of the article, where you want the new footnote. 3) Take note of the name of the footnote that immediately precedes yours in the article body. 4) Add #{{Note|TheSun_Dec9}} to the footnote numbered-list, immediately below the footnote you noted in step 3. No need to re-number anything! 5) Multiple footnotes to the same reference: see [[Wikipedia:Footnotes]] for a how-to, if you don't succeed by simply following the pattern. NOTE: It is important to add footnotes in the right order in the list! --> # {{note|Kennebec_1}}"3000 Immigrants Due at Portland for November Quota," ''The Daily Kennebec Journal'', October 30, 1923 # {{note|Herald_1}}"25 Years Ago Today," ''Portland Press Herald'', November 5, 1948 # {{note|Kennebec_2}}"Immigration Head Loud in Praise of Pier at Portland," ''The Daily Kennebec Journal'', November 28, 1923 # {{note|Kennebec_2}}ibid, ''The Daily Kennebec Journal'', November 28, 1923 [[Category:Islands of Maine]] [[Category:Cumberland County, Maine]] [[Category:History of immigration to the United States]] {{Casco Bay}}