The first city lot, on the northeast corner of Main Street and South East Avenue, was bought by John L. Skinner for $600. He built a hotel on the lot, and within a year, there were 100 homes and 1,000 people in Amboy. As the Illinois Central Railroad made progress on its buildings, people came to Amboy and settled there. To accommodate them, Amboy’s original plat was expanded repeatedly until the city limits encompassed nearly 1,000 acres of land. By July 1856, a 2-year-old Amboy had nearly 2,000 inhabitants, 500 houses, two churches (also used as schoolhouses), a printing office, 16 stores, several groceries, a planning mill, three hotels, two livery stables and other shops, including a carpenter, cabinet, blacksmith, tin, mattress, paint and harness shop. Common storerooms were rented at $150 to $200 a year, homes from $10 to $20 a month.
A town without a name The town continued to grow and prosper, but did not have a name. The residents called a meeting to rectify that situation, and many suggestions were made, including Hornsby, Bolton, Painted Post and Elmira. Finally, the name Bath was chosen. Lorenzo D. Wasson was sent to Dixon with the necessary papers to have the town so incorporated, but when the papers were returned, to everyone’s astonishment, it had been incorporated as Amboy. The cause of the change never has been determined. Some thought the name Amboy came from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, which was named for the Earl of Perth, while others attribute it to the Indian word “em-bo-li,” which means “between the hills.” HISTORY continued on 74
Make Your Event
...An Affair to Remember. ~ Accommodates 250+ People ~ ~ Great for Wedding Receptions ~ ~ Anniversaries and More ~
AMBOY COMMUNITY CENTER 280 W. Wasson Rd., Amboy 815-857-3814 Julie DeArmitt, Manager
Sauk Valley Media
5