Ayala Cove

Ayala Cove served for centuries as a landing point for Coast Miwok people, and later Spanish sailors anchored there. With its natural harbor and sheltered waters, it became the main landing point on Angel Island for generations. When the U.S. Quarantine Station opened there in 1891, ships and people arriving from other countries were seen as possible carriers of yellow fever, cholera, plague, and other diseases. Congress established the station so travelers could be held for weeks to make sure they were not sick, while their clothes and baggage were disinfected and sterilized and ships and cargo were fumigated to kill rats, fleas, and other disease-carrying pests. Quarantined travelers could wait as long as six weeks before continuing to their destinations. In time, medical advances and better screening reduced the need for the quarantine station, and it was closed. Juan Manuel de Ayala, the first European to anchor at Angel Island, named it Isla de los Angeles after landing on August 2, 1775, an important Catholic feast day celebrating Our Lady of the Angels, Saint Mary.

Tiburon, California · United States