Liberty Island is a small uninhabited island in New York Harbor

Port of New York and New Jersey

The Port of New York and New Jersey comprises the waterways in the estuary of the New York-Newark metropolitan area with a port district encompassing an approximate area within a radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument...

 in the United States, best known as the location of the Statue of Liberty

Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...

. Though so called since the turn of the century

Turn of the century

Turn of the century, in its broadest sense, refers to the transition from one century to another. The term is most often used to indicate a non-specific time period either before or after the beginning of a century....

, the name did not become official until 1956. In 1937, by proclamation 2250, President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

 expanded the Statue of Liberty National Monument to include all of Bedloe's Island, and in 1956, an act of Congress officially renamed it. It became part of the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 site Statue of Liberty National Monument, Ellis Island and Liberty Island

Statue of Liberty National Monument, Ellis Island and Liberty Island

Statue of Liberty National Monument is a national monument comprising Liberty Island and Ellis Island in New York Harbor. It includes the Statue of Liberty, situated on Liberty Island , and the former immigration depot on Ellis Island . The Statue of Liberty was dedicated in 1886...

 in 1966.
According to the United States Census Bureau

United States Census Bureau

The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the island has a land area of 59,558 square meters, or 14.717 acres, which is the property of the federal government

Federal government of the United States

The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...

.