AMBOY
How the town got its name has really never been established
and the stories are varied. One theory was that one day a white man
asked an Indian lad what tribe he belonged to. The young Indian
looked up and in broken English, he said "Am Boy," as he was.
Another was that the word "Amboy" is derived from
an Indian word meaning, "between the hills." The area around the site
of the town was in a valley. There is a rise in terrain as you go
towards Dixon and the same if you proceed southward to Mendota. The
most likely version, however, is the fact that many of the early
settlers came from Perth Amboy in New Jersey or were well acquainted
with that city, and so called it Amboy.
The original town of Amboy was laid out in 1854
by Messrs. Ketchum and Gray, after the Illinois Central Railroad was
finally located. As settlers gradually moved into the area they
settled into the communities of Shelburn, which later was called
Rocky Ford, and Binghampton to the east. These were both flourishing
places, which today have been absorbed in Amboy.
It was in May of 1853 that railroad track had
been laid between LaSalle and Bloomington. Meanwhile, in Amboy and
throughout the summer, ground was broken for the passenger and
freight houses which were both completed and built of brick the
following year. During 1854, track was then completed from Mendota to
Amboy and the first train arrived on Nov. 27.
When this community sprang up it was as a village
in the energetic fashion of many railroad communities. By the end of
1854 the I.C. had opened temporary shops and employed over 400 people
and the monthly payroll at the time was over $30,000. Permanent
buildings arose in 1856. The mechanical department consisted of nine
divisions: machine, blacksmith, car repair, boiler, paint,
locomotive, wood repair, tin, and the storehouse. The buildings were
enormous in size and the magnitude of work that was done would be
hard for us today to comprehend.
The car repair shop, for example, was a one-story
building 50 by 150 feet with two tracks running nearly its length. On
both sides were rows of work benches where repair work was done. It
was reported that two locomotives were actually completely built
here.
Another fascinating building was the engine house
which the name "round house" was given. This building, circular and
made of brick, was 216 feet in diameter and contained an open
spacious court in which there was a turn-table with tracks leading
away from it into 27 engine departments. There were large doors hung
at the entrances in the inner walls. It was here that the huge "iron
horse" could be moved about easily for repairs or storage.
By the spring of 1855, the inhabitants of this
new town numbered nearly 2,000 and after the nervous fashion of a
western town settled, Amboy made rapid growth. Residence property was
selling at a fast pace and a land company was disposing of business
lots on Main Street and East Avenue. This is where it seemed the
center of trade would be located.
Messrs. Gilson and Ransom built the Exchange
Block on the west side to draw the town, or an equal share of it to
that side. The building, a large wooden structure with six or seven
business departments below and a number of offices and rooms above
was built. It was not long before many stores became a thriving
business.
Early accounts show Isaac Edwards with his livery
business, C.M. Butler and Robert Merrigold had a lumber and grain
business, Briggs and Cushing operated a combined business of drugs
and groceries, T.J. King was also a grocer, the Badger Brothers and
N.S. Chase were dealing in clothing and later in hardware, Philip
Flach was a barber, George Keefer and Ashford and Cook were the town
butchers, Jacob Kline was the baker, Abram Jackson was both a baker
and confectioner. A local artist was Mrs. W. Andruss. Many of these
had their shops in the Exchange Block.
The most amazing and noted business venture, was
the year that two young Scotsmen by the names of John T. Pirie and
Samuel Carson discovered Amboy as an advantageous site to set up
their dry goods business. From their store which was then located in
LaSalle, Carson had ventured to Amboy on a visit. When returning to
LaSalle he told Pirie that Amboy was a booming town and seemed
certain of its prosperous growth. Although there was no place to open
a shop, a saloon was soon to close and would be available if they
desired it.
They moved north and opened a store and the first
day's receipts were reported to be $40, a respectable sum. Within a
few months time they had out-grown the former saloon and purchased a
nearby building. It was during 1865 that they moved from Amboy to
engage in business in Chicago. This small community known as Amboy
was the start of the famous Chicago firm known as Carson, Pirie,
Scott, & Company.
It was almost three years from the time the
original tract had been surveyed and named Amboy until Feb. 16, 1857,
when the charter was approved and then adopted at an election held on
March 2. Amboy was now recognized as a city by the State of Illinois.
On March 8, the first election was held and John B. Wyman was elected
its first mayor; Orange Reed, marshall; S.S. Stedman, E.S. Reynolds,
J. R. Stevens, F.B. Little, J.M. Davis, and J.A. Jackson as aldermen.
All of 234 votes were cast in the first election of Amboy.
There was a time when it was thought that Amboy
may become second in population in the state to Chicago, but with the
demise of the railroad those thoughts quickly vanished.
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.