AMBOY RAILROAD YARDS
As the Illinois Central Railroad began its move westward after
land had been secured through grants and small purchases. Plans had
already been set in motion to build a town, call it Kepatan and
locate it in section 9 of Amboy Twp. But as additional land was
purchased in section 22, a town was rapidly laid out and the plat
recorded by Joseph Crawford on March 27, 1854. The town was named
“Amboy.”
Almost as quickly contracts for the delivery of between three and
four million bricks had been made and some material had already been
laid down on the site. Foundations for the shops and passenger house
were laid out and masonry crews began to work at once. During 1854,
most of the shop buildings and the depot-hotel were completed.
The Passenger House, as the hotel was known, was built of brick
40 by 100 feet on the ground, two and three stories high with a dome
on the roof of the higher part. There were fifty beds in the hotel
and numerous cots which could be set up to care for the overflow. On
many nights all were occupied. James Akins was the first to operate
the hotel and restaurant but he stayed only six months when it was
taken over by John B. Wyman, Amboy’s first mayor.
On Dec. 15, 1875, the Passenger House was destroyed by fire. As
an early morning train started to pull out the engineer turned on the
“blower” which blasts steam into the smokestack to increase the
draft. A shower of sparks was sent into the air, a brisk breeze
carried some of them over the roof and toward the dome. In a short
time noises and smoke coming from the attic aroused sleepers.
Attempts to extinguish the fire were futile. The steam fire engine
“Amboy” was brought out but it was then too late to save the
building. Within three hours the brick walls came tumbling down.
Three years earlier operations at the rolling mill had been
discontinued and now, with the passenger house in ruins, rumors
circulated that instead of rebuilding, the company might remove the
shops and head offices. However, an architect for the company, James
Noequet, was put to work almost immediately to design a new building.
Offices for the Northern Division had been located in a two story
frame building. The new depot was planned to accommodate these
offices as well as the usual rooms found in such a building. Work was
begun in the spring of 1876 and construction was completed in January
1877.
The new depot was constructed of brick, heavily trimmed with
Joliet cut-stone water table, window and door caps and sills and
plinth blocks, corbel courses and belting were of brick and stone. It
was 32 feet wide, 88 feet long and 35 feet high with two stories and
an attic. The roof, formerly covered with heavy metal, was later
replaced with a modern built-up type of covering. More than fifty
large windows provided light in the days before electricity.
Originally, as shown on a floor plan published in the Amboy
Journal of Jan. 10, 1877, the first floor was divided into ten rooms,
with separate waiting rooms for the ladies and men and offices for
the trainmen, baggage man, conductors and ticket agent, a fireproof
vault and a room for the batteries which furnished power to the
telegraph. Access to the second floor was by a wide, curved stairway
with walnut spindles and rail. Rooms were provided there for the
superintendent and engineer for the northern division, the
trainmaster, another steel vault, a storeroom and the telegraph room.
Railroading in Amboy began a steady decline after the removal of
the headquarters in January, 1894. Shop work never totally ceased and
there was even some new construction in 1904 and again during the
first World War when the yards were expanded and a new machine shop
was built. By the late twenties most of the jobs were gone. In 1939,
the last passenger train was taken off and by 1967, all activity had
ceased with the closing of the station.
Mayor Clemens Schuette began negotiations with the I. C. in 1968,
in an attempt to secure the depot for use as a museum. In November of
that year he received a letter stating that the company would
consider donating the depot to the city. The mayor was unsuccessful
in his effort to find some group or organization to promote the
project and it was dropped.
By the fall of 1973, a “Save the Depot” committee was organized,
later to become the Amboy Bicentennial Commission. A meeting was
arranged between the commission and Alan Boyd, President of the
Illinois Central, for Dec. 20, 1973. As a result of this meeting a
lease was formulated. A grant of $2,500.00 was received and matched
with an equal amount raised locally to begin the restoration.
Contributions large and small came in to meet the matching fund
requirement.
During the spring of 1974, every weekend was devoted to cleaning
and repairing the building. As rooms were made ready, the people of
the community were asked for the loan or donation of pictures and
other memorabilia for display. By June, 1974, five rooms had been
renovated and the Depot Museum was opened to the public each weekend
through the summer.
Work continues still today in restoring this marvelous structure.
As you visit the community of Amboy this weekend in its celebration
of “Depot Days,” stop in and visit the railroad depot and museum. You
will be amazed at what community spirit and pride has done to this
old structure.
All pictures and articles found on this page are copyrighted by
the Lee County Historical Society. They are not to be reproduced,
redistributed, sold, or otherwise altered. These pictures and
articles are for the sole private, non-commercial use for research
and education. These pictures may not be used without the expressed
written permission of the Lee County Historical Society.