Editing Perth Amboy, New Jersey (section)

==History==
===Name===
The [[Lenape]] [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] called the point on which the city is built "Ompoge", meaning "level ground"<ref name=NYT2001>Cheslow, Jerry. [https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/02/realestate/if-you-re-thinking-living-perth-amboy-waterfront-city-planning-comeback.html "If You're Thinking of Living In/Perth Amboy; A Waterfront City Planning a Comeback"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 2, 2001. Accessed December 18, 2019. "The ''City by the Bay,'' as Perth Amboy calls itself, has a proud history. Founded in 1683, it was the first city in New Jersey to be chartered by the Crown, in 1718.... The name Perth Amboy comes from the Earl of Perth, one of the proprietors of New Jersey under the royal grant, and the Leni Lenape Indian word 'ompage', meaning 'level ground.'"</ref> or "standing or upright".<ref>[http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/356/nj_place_names_origin.pdf The Origin of New Jersey Place Names], May 1945, p. 26. Accessed December 18, 2019.</ref> When settled in 1683, the new city was dubbed "New Perth" in honor of [[James Drummond, 4th Earl of Perth|James Drummond, Earl of Perth]], one of the 12 associates of a company of Scottish proprietors; Drummond has been honored with a statue located outside of city hall.<ref name=CN2018>Makin, Bob. [https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/local/new-jersey/jersey-history/2018/06/28/walking-guide-perth-amboys-colonial-revolutionary-war-history/735404002/ "Walking guide to Perth Amboy's Colonial, Revolutionary War history"], ''[[Courier News]]'', June 28, 2018. Accessed December 18, 2019. "Outside city hall is a statue of James Drummond, 4th Earl of Perth, a Scottish statesmen who partnered with William Penn in the settlement of East Jersey in 1681. In 1683, he and Penn were among the 12 Proprietors who established the city as a port, fishery and trading post. Perth Amboy is named in the Earl’s honor, Amboy being an Anglicizing of the Lenape word for valley, 'ompoge.'"</ref> The [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian language]] name persisted, corrupted to Ambo, or Point Amboy, and eventually a combination of the native and colonial names emerged,  also appearing in [[South Amboy, New Jersey|South Amboy]].<ref name=WPA>Compiled by the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Project Administration Project for the State of New Jersey [https://books.google.com/books?id=t6wmzEJvTGcC&pg=PA362 ''New Jersey A Guide to Its Past and Present''], p. 362. [[Works Project Administration]], reprinted by US History Publishers, 2007. {{ISBN|9781603540292}}. Accessed August 8, 2014.</ref><ref>Hutchinson, Viola L. [http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/356/nj_place_names_origin.pdf#page=26 ''The Origin of New Jersey Place Names''], New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed September 17, 2015.</ref><ref>[[Henry Gannett|Gannett, Henry]]. [https://books.google.com/books?id=9V1IAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA243 ''The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States''], p. 243. [[United States Government Printing Office]], 1905. Accessed September 17, 2015.</ref>

===Scottish colony===
Perth Amboy was settled by [[Scottish colonization of the Americas|Scottish colonists]] around 1683 who had been recruited to inhabit the share of the East Jersey colony owned by [[Robert Barclay]], a Quaker who would later become the absentee governor of the province.<ref>DeAngelo, Walter A. [http://www.middlesexcountynj.gov/Government/Departments/BDE/Documents/history_buffs_guide.pdf ''The History Buff's Guide to Middlesex County''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929202842/http://www.middlesexcountynj.gov/Government/Departments/BDE/Documents/history_buffs_guide.pdf |date=September 29, 2020 }}, [[Middlesex County, New Jersey]]. Accessed December 18, 2019. "The City of Perth Amboy (originally known as Scottish Colony) was founded by Robert Barclay in 1683 (Perth Amboy received a Royal City Charter in 1718)."</ref><ref>Klett, Joseph R. [https://www.nj.gov/state/archives/pdf/proprietors.pdf "Using the Records of East and West Jersey Proprietors"], New Jersey State Archives, 2014. Accessed April 9, 2015. "Scottish Colony, 1683 – Following the purchase of a share of East Jersey by Scottish Quaker and later Governor Robert Barclay, Scottish settlers were recruited and began to arrive in Perth Amboy and surrounding areas beginning in 1683. Most were not Quakers, but rather Calvinists from Edinburgh, Montrose, Aberdeen and Kelso. Settlers and their servants were granted lots in Perth Amboy and areas of Monmouth County. Perth Amboy became the capital of East New Jersey in 1686."</ref>

===Charter and incorporation===
Perth Amboy was formed by [[Royal charter]] on August 4, 1718, within various townships and again by the [[New Jersey Legislature]] on December 21, 1784, within Perth Amboy Township and from part of [[Woodbridge Township, New Jersey|Woodbridge Township]]. Perth Amboy Township was formed on October 31, 1693, and was enlarged during the 1720s to encompass Perth Amboy city. Perth Amboy Township was incorporated as one of New Jersey's initial 104 townships through the [[Township Act of 1798]] on February 21, 1798. The township was replaced by Perth Amboy city on April 8, 1844.<ref name=Story>Snyder, John P. [https://nj.gov/dep/njgs/enviroed/oldpubs/bulletin67.pdf ''The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968''], Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 172. Accessed May 30, 2024.</ref>

===Provincial capital===
[[File:ProprietaryHousePerthAmboy.JPG|thumb|Proprietary House]]
[[Elizabeth, New Jersey|Elizabeth]] (then known as Elizabethtown) was designated in 1668 as the first capital of New Jersey.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110714185802/http://www.njhm.com/statecapitals.htm Was Trenton NJ's only capital? If not what other city was?], New Jersey History's Mysteries, updated July 14, 2011. Accessed December 18, 2019. "The very first capital of New Jersey was Elizabethtown (now Elizabeth) named in 1668 when the original Proprietors, Lord Berkeley and George Carteret, send Philip Carteret to govern their new possession. Later they moved the capital to Perth Amboy in 1686, and when New Jersey was divided into East and West Jersey, Burlington became the capital of the latter, and Perth Amboy remained the capital of the former. In 1702, New Jersey became a Royal Colony, but both towns remained capitals and the Royal Governors split time between the two (when they didn't govern from New York City, but that is another story)."</ref>  In 1686, Perth Amboy was designated as the capital of [[East Jersey]], while [[Burlington, New Jersey|Burlington]] was the capital of [[West Jersey]]. After the two were united as a [[royal colony]] in 1702, the two cities alternated as the capital of the [[Province of New Jersey]] until November 1790, when [[Trenton, New Jersey|Trenton]] was designated as the unified state capital, chosen based on its location midway between [[New York City]] and [[Philadelphia]].<ref>Stansfield, Charles A. [https://books.google.com/books?id=FTXwgHg89W8C&pg=PA79 ''A Geography of New Jersey: The City in the Garden''], p. 79. [[Rutgers University Press]], 1998. {{ISBN|9780813525792}} Accessed December 18, 2019. "Until the Revolution, the royal governor and legislature migrated back and forth from East Jersey's capital, Perth Amboy, to Burlington, capital of West Jersey."</ref><ref>Ryan, Joe. [https://www.nj.com/news/2007/11/on_nov_25_1790_the.html "Looking Back: Lawmakers call Trenton home"], ''[[The Star-Ledger]]'', November 25, 2007, updated April 2, 2019. Accessed December 18, 2019. "On Nov. 25, 1790, the New Jersey Legislature ended its years of wandering and named Trenton the state capital.... Elizabeth was the first Colonial capital, followed by Perth Amboy and Burlington as the capitals of East and West Jersey in 1676. Trenton, named for Philadelphia merchant William Trent, was well positioned on the Delaware River, roughly halfway between New York and Philadelphia."</ref>

A few of the buildings from this early period can still be seen today.<ref name=CN2018/> Most notably, the [[Proprietary House]], the home of [[William Franklin]], the last Royal Governor of New Jersey and estranged son of [[Benjamin Franklin]], still stands in the waterfront area of the city. Architect John Edward Pryor was hired in 1761 to design and construct the building, which was completed in September 1764, years late and over budget. Franklin preferred his alternate home in Burlington.<ref>[https://www.theproprietaryhouse.org/construction Construction 1762 -1764], [[Proprietary House]]. Accessed December 18, 2019. "On March 25, 1761, the Board of the Proprietors of the Eastern Division of New Jersey (to give them their full title) proposed to construct a fine mansion worthy of serving as the residence of the Royal Governors. They hired the English architect and builder John Edward Pryor to design and build what they called the 'Proprietary House in Amboy.'... Troubled by cost overruns and delays that almost ruined Pryor, major construction was at last completed in September of 1764.... New Jersey's royal governor at the time was William Franklin. London was slow to support his plan to buy the mansion in Perth Amboy and he had heavily invested in a fine estate in Burlington, closer to Philadelphia where his family still resided."</ref> Franklin finally moved in 1774 into the Proprietary House. Franklin's father, Ben, tried unsuccessfully to convince his son to support the Colonial cause. William Franklin was arrested and detained at Proprietary House in 1776 until he was tried and convicted of treason.<ref>[https://www.theproprietaryhouse.org/royal-governor Royal Governor 1774 -1776], [[Proprietary House]]. Accessed December 18, 2019. "The Franklins didn’t move into Proprietary House until 1774. Their time there would be short but fateful. With the outbreak of hostilities between the colonies and Britain in 1775, high drama played out at the governor’s mansion when Ben Franklin visited and tried in vain to win his Loyalist son over to the cause of independence. But William remained loyal to the crown. The New Jersey Assembly ordered the Governor held under house arrest at Proprietary House in January 1776 and removed him for trial in June of the same year."</ref>

[[Perth Amboy City Hall]] was first built as a court house for Middlesex County in 1714, having been designated as the county seat the previous year. The building was later used as the home of the East Jersey Provincial Assembly. The building was destroyed by a major fire in 1731 and rebuilt in 1745. Another fire was deliberately set in 1764, forcing a rebuilding that was completed in 1767.<ref>[https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/c66b5230-abc7-44fb-b6f6-cb398e568875 National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form for Perth Amboy City Hall], [[National Park Service]], received November 1980. Accessed December 18, 2019. "The Perth Amboy City Hall, believed to be the oldest municipal office still in use in the United States and constructed during the years 1713-1714, began its existence as a combination jail and court house. It was built in response to Perth Amboy's designation in 1713 by the Provincial Assembly (Legislature) of New Jersey as the location for the Middlesex County Court House and Jail. City Hall also became the meeting place of the Provincial Assembly when it sat in East Jersey (since Perth Amboy was its capital) and the site wherein New Jersey's Royal Governors were inaugurated. As such, City Hall was a seat of 'state' government at this time."</ref> It is the oldest city hall in continuous use in the United States.<ref>Martin, Antoinette. [https://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/18/realestate/in-the-region-new-jersey-new-urbanism-is-driving-a-big-waterfront-project.html "In the Region/New Jersey; 'New Urbanism' Is Driving a Big Waterfront Project"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', April 18, 2004. Accessed November 28, 2011. "Perth Amboy is home to the only official Royal Governor's Palace still intact from colonial days, a mansion built for Governor William Franklin, the son of Benjamin Franklin, who moved into the house in 1774. Perth Amboy is also home to the oldest City Hall in continuous use in the United States."</ref><ref name= CofPA>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110713143234/http://ci.perthamboy.nj.us/the-history-of-perth-amboy.html The History of Perth Amboy], City of Perth Amboy, backed up by the [[Internet Archive]] as of July 13, 2011. Accessed December 18, 2019. "Perth Amboy is also home to the oldest City Hall in continuous use in the United States, built during 1714-1717 or 1718, to serve as the County courthouse and jail."</ref> On November 20, 1789, City Hall was the site where the [[New Jersey General Assembly]] met to ratify the [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]], becoming the first state in the nation to do so.<ref>Russell, Suzanne. [https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/local/middlesex-county/2014/11/11/perth-amboy-re-enacts-signing-bill-rights/18879407/ "Veterans Day Celebration"], ''[[Courier News]]'', November 11, 2014. Accessed December 18, 2019. "In 1789 Perth Amboy was the capital of New Jersey. Members of the General Assembly of New Jersey met in the courthouse, now part of City Hall, to ratify the Bill of Rights. William Livingston was governor of New Jersey at that time and on Nov. 20, 1789 the Bill of Rights was ratified in Perth Amboy, officials said. The document became a part of the Constitution on Dec. 10, 1791."</ref>

[[File:George Washington by Nels N. Alling, Market Square, Perth Amboy, NJ.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Statue of George Washington (Perth Amboy, New Jersey)|''George Washington'']] by [[Nels N. Alling]]]]
Market Square, located across from City Hall, is a park that had been an outdoor marketplace during the Colonial era. Market Square includes a replica of the Liberty Bell, a [[Statue of George Washington (Perth Amboy, New Jersey)|statue of George Washington]], and the Bill of Rights Arch, which commemorates the fact that New Jersey was the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights.<ref>[ftp://www.njleg.state.nj.us/20162017/AR/63_I1.HTM Assembly Resolution No. 63 State of New Jersey 217th Legislature]{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, [[New Jersey Legislature]]. Accessed December 18, 2019. "Whereas, It was in Perth Amboy City Hall that the State of New Jersey became the first state in the country to ratify the Bill of Rights on November 20, 1789, and this event is commemorated by the Bill of Rights Arch, located in Market Square Park; and Whereas, Market Square Park, commonly referred to as City Hall Park or City Hall Circle, celebrates and stands as a monument to the City of Perth Amboy’s historical significance, and contains the Bill of Rights Arch and an exact replica of the Liberty Bell"</ref>

[[St. Peter's Episcopal Church (Perth Amboy, New Jersey)|St. Peter's Church]], which held its first service in 1685 and received a royal charter in 1718, has been recognized as the first [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal]] congregation in the state. Its current building, dating from the 1850s, is surrounded by a graveyard of early inhabitants and displays a collection of stained-glass windows with religious scenes as well as early depictions of New Jersey receiving her charter and a meeting between William Franklin and his father, Ben.<ref>[https://www.stpetersepiscopal.com/history History], [[St. Peter's Episcopal Church (Perth Amboy, New Jersey)|St. Peter's Church]]. Accessed December 18, 2019. "St. Peter’s is proud to be the oldest Episcopal parish in New Jersey. Historic records show that the first service was held in 1685. Our first rector arrived from England in 1698. In our history we have had twenty-six rectors, only four since 1914. Our royal charter was received in 1718, the same year as the city of Perth Amboy received its charter."</ref>

Perth Amboy was New Jersey's primary inbound port for African slaves.<ref>[https://www.salon.com/2015/07/29/secret_history_of_a_northern_slave_state_how_slavery_was_written_into_new_jerseys_dna/ Secret History of a Northern Slave State] Retrieved March 28, 2020</ref>

The [[Kearny Cottage]] is a remaining example of 18th-century vernacular architecture. Operated as a [[historic house museum]] and operated by the Kearny Cottage Historical Society. Built in 1781 on High Street, the house was moved to Sadowski Parkway in the 1920s, and was later relocated to its current site at 63 Catalpa Avenue, just inland from the mouth of the Raritan River.<ref>[https://njht.org/dca/njht/funded/sitedetails/kearnycottage.html Kearny Cottage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219045415/https://njht.org/dca/njht/funded/sitedetails/kearnycottage.html |date=December 19, 2019 }}, [[New Jersey Historic Trust]]. Accessed December 18, 2019. "Constructed in 1781, Kearny Cottage is a rare surviving example of an eighteenth- century vernacular residence in urban Perth Amboy. Once home to the successful and influential Kearney family, the cottage has since served as Perth Amboy's sole museum and repository for local historical memorabilia since the 1920s."</ref><ref>[http://www.kearnycottage.org Home Page], [[Kearny Cottage]]. Accessed December 18, 2019. "Built in 1781, the four-room cottage is a museum operated by Kearny Cottage Historical Society and serves as a repository for many items donated by citizens of Perth Amboy reflecting the maritime history of its owners and the city."</ref>

During the colonial period and for a significant time thereafter, Perth Amboy was an important way-station for travelers between [[New York City]] and [[Philadelphia]], as it was the site of a ferry that crossed the [[Arthur Kill]] to [[Tottenville, Staten Island]]. The first ferry operated in 1684 and regular service began operating in 1709. This ferry became less important when the [[Outerbridge Crossing]] opened in 1928, but continued to operate until 1963.<ref>[https://www.silive.com/timecapsule/2016/10/vintage_week_photos_of_ferries.html "Staten Island Ferry facts and vintage photos"], ''[[Staten Island Advance]]'', October 21, 2016, updated January 3, 2019. Accessed December 18, 2019. "The Perth Amboy Ferry slip, located on Arthur Kill Road, was once a vital slip for vessels entering and exiting New York Harbor -- ferry service dates back to 1684, with regular service beginning in 1709. It was operational until 1963.... It became less important with the opening of the Outerbridge Crossing in 1928."</ref> In 1998, the [[Perth Amboy Ferry Slip]] was restored to its 1904 appearance.<ref>Laub, Donald. [http://www.nypl.org/blog/2008/02/07/new-jersey-side-tottenville-ferry "New Jersey Side of the Tottenville Ferry"], [[New York Public Library]], February 7, 2008. Accessed August 18, 2013.</ref> A replica of the ticket office has been constructed and is used as a small museum.<ref name=CofPA/><ref name="Perth Amboy">[https://web.archive.org/web/20081121093359/http://www.raritanmillstone.org/guidebook/perth_amboy.htm#ferryslip Perth Amboy Tottenville Ferry Slip HS], Raritan-Millstone Heritage Alliance, backed up by the [[Internet Archive]] as of November 21, 2008. Accessed April 9, 2015.</ref>

On March 31, 1870, [[Thomas Mundy Peterson]] became the first African-American in the United States to vote in an election under the recently enacted provisions of the [[Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution]].<ref>Ginxburg, Ralph. [https://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/15/nyregion/perth-amboy-church-is-302-and-counting.html "Perth Amboy Church Is 302 And Counting"], ''[[The New York Times]]'' February 15, 1987. Accessed December 18, 2019. "The first black man to vote in America, Thomas Mundy Peterson, was a member of St. Peter's and is buried in its graveyard. He voted in the Perth Amboy mayoral election of March 31, 1870, one day after adoption of the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution."</ref> Peterson voted in an election to update the Perth Amboy city charter.<ref>[https://historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/5614 "Thomas Peterson Casts the First Vote"], [[University of Richmond]]. Accessed December 18, 2019. "The first African American to take advantage of the new right to vote was Thomas Mundy Peterson. Peterson cast his historic vote on March 31, 1870. The iconic vote was cast in a local election in Perth Amboy, New Jersey for the town’s charter. Gary Sullivan of the ''News Tribune'' stated, 'Exercising his right to vote in a local election on March 31, 1870. Peterson became the first black man in the United States to cast a ballot. The amendment had been ratified on February 3, 1870, and within just two months the Fifteenth Amendment was put to use.'"</ref>

===Industrialization and immigration===
[[File:PSM V40 D330 Three kilns at the perth amboy terra cotta company.jpg|thumb|Three kilns at the [[Perth Amboy Terra Cotta Company]]]]
By the middle of the 19th century, immigration and industrialization transformed Perth Amboy. Factories such as [[A. Hall and Sons Terra Cotta]], Guggenheim and Sons and the Copper Works Smelting Company fueled a thriving downtown and employed many area residents. Growth was further stimulated by becoming the tidewater terminal for the [[Lehigh Valley Railroad]] and a coal shipping point.<ref>[http://soundunderwatersurvey.com/wrecks/bouquet-2/the-path-of-the-black-diamond/ The Path of the Black Diamond; A history of one company’s undertaking to distribute Anthracite coal within New England. The Lehigh Valley Railroad & Bee Line Transportation Company], Sound Underwater Survey. Accessed December 18, 2019. "This competing action by the L&S necessitated a quick response by the LV, and resulted in the building of its extension eastward across New Jersey and the building of a salt water terminal by 1876. The line was built by acquiring the charters of two, as yet unbuilt railroads in New Jersey, and melding them into a single charter for a line titled Easton & Amboy Railroad (E&A). The eastern terminal was established at Perth Amboy, New Jersey, a salt water port at the confluence of the Arthur Kill and the Raritan River."</ref> Perth Amboy developed tightly-knit and insular ethnic neighborhoods such as Budapest, Dublin, and Chickentown.<ref>Wang, Paul W.; and Massopust, Katherine A. [https://books.google.com/books?id=c2Zmt4p9lQ4C&pg=PA19 ''Perth Amboy''], p. 19. [[Arcadia Publishing]], 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-7385-6241-4}}. Accessed September 22, 2016.</ref> Immigrants from [[Denmark]], [[Poland]], [[Hungary]], [[Czechoslovakia]], [[Italy]], [[Russia]], and [[Austria]] quickly dominated the factory jobs.<ref name=WPA />

In 1903, the [[Perth Amboy Public Library]], one of the first [[List of Carnegie libraries in New Jersey|Carnegie libraries]] in the state, made possible through grants from [[Andrew Carnegie]] and donations by local philanthropists, opened to the public.<ref name=LibraryMission/><ref name=NYT1901>Staff. [https://www.nytimes.com/1901/03/14/archives/library-for-perth-amboy-mr-carnegie-given-20000-the-city-secures-a.html "Library for Perth Amboy; Mr. Carnegie Given $20,000 -- The City Secures a Site"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', March 14, 1901. Accessed September 8, 2018.</ref><ref name=CN2015/>

In 1914, Perth Amboy hosted a [[minor league baseball]] team called the [[Perth Amboy Pacers]], who played as members of the [[Class D (baseball)|Class D]] level [[Atlantic League (1914)|Atlantic League]]. The Atlantic League folded after one season.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?id=4e1972b2 1914 Perth Amboy Pacers], [[Baseball-Reference.com]]. Accessed April 9, 2015.</ref>

In late August 1923, an estimated 6,000 persons rioted, breaking through police lines after the [[Ku Klux Klan]] attempted to organize a meeting in the city.<ref>Staff. [https://www.nytimes.com/1923/08/31/archives/perth-amboy-mob-in-antiklan-riot-scores-are-beaten-crowd-of-6000.html "Perth Amboy Mob In Anti-Klan Riot. Scores Are Beaten. Crowd of 6,000 Drive Ku Kluxers From Hall, Pummeling and Stoning Them. Police Tear Gas Futile. Fire Department Attempts to Halt Assault, but Rioters Cut Every Line of Hose."], ''[[The New York Times]]'', August 31, 1923. Accessed September 8, 2018. "In the wildest disorder incident to Ku Klux Klan activities yet known in the East, a mob of 6,000 persons in Perth Amboy, N.J., last night overcame the combined police and fire departments of the town and broke up a meeting of 'Invisible Empire' subjects."</ref><ref>[https://stanleyrogouski.wordpress.com/2014/10/08/the-battle-of-perth-amboy-1923/ "The Battle of Perth Amboy (1923)"], Stanley W. Rogouski, October 8, 2014. Accessed April 9, 2015.</ref>

The city was a resort town in the 19th century and early 20th century, located on the northern edge of the [[Raritan Bayshore]]. Since the early 1990s Perth Amboy has seen redevelopment. Small businesses have started to open up, helped by the city's designation as an [[Urban Enterprise Zone]]. The waterfront has also seen a rebirth. The marina has been extended, and there are new promenades, parks, and housing overlooking the bay.

The chapter "More Alarms at Night" in humorist [[James Thurber]]'s biography ''[[My Life and Hard Times]]'' involves Perth Amboy. One night during his adolescence in Ohio, young Thurber is unable to go to sleep because he cannot remember the name of this New Jersey community. He wakens his father, demanding that he start naming towns in New Jersey. When the startled father names several towns with single-word names, Thurber replies that the name he is seeking is "two words, like helter skelter". This convinces his father that Thurber has become dangerously insane. Thurber also wrote the story later made into the film ''[[The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947 film)|The Secret Life of Walter Mitty]]'', about an "inconsequential guy from Perth Amboy, New Jersey".<ref name=Mitty>Staff. [https://variety.com/1946/film/reviews/the-secret-life-of-walter-mitty-1200414953/ "Review: 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty'"], ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'', December 31, 1946. Accessed April 9, 2015. "Thurber's whole conception of Mitty was an inconsequential fellow from Perth Amboy, NJ, to whom nothing – but nothing – ever happened and who, as a result, lived a 'secret life' via his excursions into daydreaming."</ref> Perth Amboy's water pumping station is located in [[Old Bridge Township, New Jersey|Old Bridge Township]].<ref>Haydon, Tom. [https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/12/old_bridge_seeks_to_pump_own_w.html "Old Bridge seeks to pump own water from reservoir in effort to reduce costs"], NJ Advance Media for [[NJ.com]], December 12, 2010. Accessed September 22, 2016. "Middlesex Water Company takes water from the large reservoir that Perth Amboy built on property the city purchased in Old Bridge in the 1920s. The city turned over operation of the reservoir, known as the Runyon Watershed, to the water company more than 10 years ago."</ref>