We’re all familiar with Ellis Island, a historic landmark and popular tourist destination located in both New York and New Jersey. The nation’s busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954, it was the gateway to America for over 12,000,000 individuals. Many people were treated for illnesses and quarantined to avoid the spread of diseases in the US. People, but what about animals? While some pets MAY have been allowed to pass through Ellis Island (birds, for example), most animals imported to the United States ended up at separate quarantine centers.

There was only one animal quarantine station on the East Coast. The first was built in Garfield in 1885, but a larger facility was built in Clifton between 1900-1907.
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The complex includes 27 buildings, one of which is the sheep barn, moved from its Garfield location to the new animal quarantine facility.
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Other structures include garages, sheds, frame dwellings, and cattle barns (stables). All major components of the facility are intact but in danger. There are about 15 buildings with conditions ranging from poor to dire.
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Several of the buildings have been renovated and serve as part of the Clifton Municipal Complex, including an animal shelter, senior center, and art center. Others are used as storage or sit decaying. A newly formed group, the Clifton Historic Quarantine Station Preservation Foundation, wants to save the historic structures not already repurposed.
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A fascinating historic site worth preserving, the quarantine center housed thousands of animals between 1900 and 1979.
Quartl/Wikipedia
A 1961 U.S. Department of Agriculture article labeled the quarantine station the Ellis Island for animals. The year prior, 118 zoo animals, 1,000 domestic animals, and 8,000 birds passed through inspection and quarantine in Clifton. While the complex's primary function was confining and inspecting commercial animals, numerous racehorses and wild animals were also processed. One notable example occurred in 1935, when the US government brought a number of muskoxen in from Greenland, to be reintroduced to Alaska's Nunivak Island. The repopulation was a success, thanks in part to the animals' quarantine in Clifton, New Jersey.

When the complex was built, Clifton was an ideal location. The area was fairly rural, with easy access to transportation options including rail lines and waterways. As time went on, the area became more suburban and it no longer made sense to process animals there. A new facility was built near Newburgh, New York in 1978. Originally owned by the Federal Government, the city of Clifton obtained the deed to the property in 1962. After the quarantine station was closed, Clifton broke ground on the property for its new municipal complex. The site is located in the area of… Address: 900 Clifton Avenue, Clifton, NJ, 07013. To discover other interesting historical sites in New Jersey (all family-friendly and open to the public), click here.

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