South Amboy, New Jersey

South Amboy is a city in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located on Raritan Bay. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 9,411,

South Amboy and Perth Amboy, across the Raritan River, are collectively referred to as The Amboys. Signage for exit 11 on the New Jersey Turnpike refers to "The Amboys" as a destination.

History

First settled by the Lenape Native Americans, who called the area around Perth Amboy by the name "Ompoge" (meaning "level ground"), the settlement ultimately became a key port for commerce between Lower New York Bay and Philadelphia, connected first by stagecoach and eventually by railroad. The city was initially founded as a village by Dutch fishermen known as Radford's Ferry, but later become a key city to safeguard New Amsterdam from the British. When settled by Europeans in 1684, the city was named New Perth in honor of James Drummond, Earl of Perth, one of the associates of a company of Scottish proprietaries. The Algonquian language name was corrupted to Ambo, or Point Amboy, and eventually a combination of the native and colonial names was used. South Amboy is mentioned during the Revolutionary War in letters to and from George Washington referring to an "officer stationed on the South Amboy shore" and by General Washington himself writing that he was "now in Jersey" and suggesting the enemy "may proceed to South Amboy". Once known as Radford's Ferry, as well as the South Ward of Perth Amboy, South Amboy became one of the earliest townships around 1685 as well as one of the largest at 18 miles long and six miles wide.

In 1808, the first store was opened by Samuel Gordon. In 1831, Robert L. Stevens brought the steam engine "John Bull" to the Camden & Amboy Railroad. In 1832, Charles Moore became the town's first lawyer. In 1844, the first post office was established in the town. In 1852, the Swan Hill Pottery was established. Most of the town's churches were established between the 1850s-1880s. In 1880, the Great Beds Lighthouse is built offshore. In 1882, local newspaper "The Citizen" was established. In 1888, Amboy National Bank was established. In 1889, the oldest active fraternal organization, the Knights of Pythias Lodge was established. In 1890, a huge fire destroyed an entire city block of wooden houses on the east side of Broadway, which led to the establishment of the city's first fire station that same year. In 1912, the Woman's Club was formed. In 1912, New Jersey's first air mail flight was made between South Amboy and Perth Amboy. In 1914, the South Amboy Public Library was established. In 1919, the first public high school was established. In 1924, the South Amboy Hospital was built. In 1927, the Victory Bridge was built, connecting South Amboy to Perth Amboy. In 1931, the South Amboy First Aid Squad was established. In 1972, the library was rededicated as Sadie Pope Dowdell Public Library. In 1984, scenes for The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) were filmed in South Amboy at the Raritan Diner. In 1991, the South Amboy-Sayreville Times newspaper was established. In 1993, the Amboy Beacon newspaper was established. Raritan Bay Waterfront Park opened in 1998. In 1999, filming for Coyote Ugly (2000) took place in South Amboy, where the film partially is set.

Ammunition explosions

As a result of South Amboy's strategic location as a transportation hub, the city has been heavily damaged by military explosives in two major incidents. The 1918 explosions occurred during World War I at the Gillespie Shell Loading Plant, just south of the town. The 1950 explosion struck as Healing Lighterage Company dockworkers were transferring ammunition from a freight train onto barges. Both disasters killed dozens and injured hundreds of local victims, damaged hundreds of South Amboy buildings, required emergency declarations of martial law, and scattered wide areas of ammunition remnants that continue to surface occasionally.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total area of 2.68 square miles (6.95 km²), including 1.54 square miles (3.98 km²) of land and 1.15 square miles (2.97 km²) of water (42.76%). South Amboy is bordered by land with Sayreville to the south and west, by Perth Amboy to the north (across the Raritan River), and Staten Island to the east (across the Raritan Bay in New York City).

Area codes 732 and 848 are used in South Amboy. South Amboy remains a strong enclave of Polish ethnicity, including 21% of its population in the 2000 census, and the historic Sacred Heart Church and School.