The island's name derives from the site of an early European house, believed that built by Capt.

[1] Henry A. S. Dearborn, an officer of the Massachusetts Militia and a future general, built Fort Scammell on the island in 1808 as part of the national second system of fortifications.

It was named after Alexander Scammell, Adjutant-General of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, who was killed in action during the Battle of Yorktown.

The fort was made of stone, brick, and earth, and initially mounted fifteen guns and a 10-inch mortar.

In the 1840s–1850s, as part of the national third system of fortifications, Fort Scammell was modernized by extending its walls to enclose a larger area.

[4] Thomas Lincoln Casey, an Army engineer officer known for his work on the Washington Monument, completely rebuilt the fort beginning in 1862 during the American Civil War.

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.