The Port at Philadelphia
Located 110 miles up the Delaware River, Philadelphia was a traditional U.S. inland port that was very important in immigration during the 1700s.

However, the Delaware is a winding, shallow river and it freezes over in the winter - two major factors leading to New York as a preferred port for immigrants. But between 1815 and 1873, a quarter of a million immigrants arrived in Philadelphia; a million more would follow by the mid-1920s.

Immigrants in the Steamship Era
When steamships became a viable and lucrative immigrant shipping option, shipping companies typically chose New York as their U.S. port of choice. However, the Pennsylvania Railroad continually enticed steamships, including those operated by the American Line and the Red Star Line, to dock at Philadelphia.

Throughout the last 20 years of the 19th century, immigration to Philadelphia steadily climbed, although never matching New York's huddled masses. The 1880s saw the largest numbers of immigrants through Philadelphia yet - more than 275,000. The numbers dropped slightly in the 1890s and the first decade of the 20th century, only to climb dramatically between 1910 and 1914, when some 250,000 immigrants arrived at Philadelphia.

Arrival at Philadelphia
An immigration station in Philadelphia saw immigrants through their medical and legal examinations. They could then purchase train tickets and exchange money for their continuing journey.

Most immigrants at Philadelphia were only passing through to settle in other locales, many settling in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. At the same time, most immigrants living in Philadelphia actually came into America through other ports.