Editing South Amboy, New Jersey (section)

==History==
First settled by the [[Lenape]] [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]], who called the area around [[Perth Amboy, New Jersey|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.<ref>[http://www.southamboynj.gov/?q=city-history City History], City of South Amboy. Accessed June 1, 2014.</ref><ref>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 July 31, 2011. "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> 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.<ref name="Historical Archives">{{Cite web |title=Historical Archives |url=https://dowdell.org/wordpress/?page_id=1624 |access-date=2023-10-31 |language=en}}</ref> When settled by Europeans in 1684, the city was named New Perth in honor of [[James Drummond, 4th Earl of Perth|James Drummond, Earl of Perth]], one of the associates of a company of Scottish proprietaries. The [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian language]] name was corrupted to Ambo, or Point Amboy, and eventually a combination of the native and colonial names was used.<ref>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 October 6, 2015.</ref><ref>Hutchinson, Viola L. [http://mapmaker.rutgers.edu/356/nj_place_names_origin.pdf#page=29 ''The Origin of New Jersey Place Names''], New Jersey Public Library Commission, May 1945. Accessed October 6, 2015.</ref><ref>[[Henry Gannett|Gannett, Henry]]. [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n242 <!-- pg=243 --> ''The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States''], p. 243. [[United States Government Printing Office]], 1905. Accessed October 6, 2015.</ref> 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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=A Brief History of South Amboy |url=https://hsofsouthamboy.wixsite.com/hssa/who-we-are |access-date=2023-10-31 |website=hsofsouthamboy.wixsite.com}}</ref>

In 1808, the first store was opened by Samuel Gordon. In 1831, [[Robert L. Stevens]] brought the steam engine "[[John Bull (locomotive)|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 Light]]house 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 movement in the United States|Woman's Club]] was formed. In 1912, New Jersey's first [[Airmail|air mail]] flight was made between South Amboy and [[Perth Amboy, New Jersey|Perth Amboy]]. In 1914, the South Amboy [[Public library|Public Library]] was established. In 1919, the first public [[South Amboy High School|high school]] was established. In 1924, the South Amboy Hospital was built. In 1927, the [[Victory Bridge (New Jersey)|Victory Bridge]] was built, connecting South Amboy to Perth Amboy. In 1931, the South Amboy [[Emergency medical services|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.<ref name=SAST2022>Burkard, Tom. [https://www.thesatimes.com/SATJanuary2022_compressed_1_.pdf#page=14 "Movies/Films In South Amboy/Sayreville"], ''South Amboy-Sayreville Times'', January 26, 2022. Accessed May 27, 2024. "In 1985, Director/Actor Woody Allen brought his movie ''Purple Rose of Cairo'' to South Amboy, and shooting took place at the legendary Raritan Diner on Bordentown Ave.... Back in September 1999, ''Coyote Ugly'' had scenes shot in South Amboy, and on July 12, 2000, the movie crew returned to town to shoot final scenes for the movie, at the South Amboy Knights of Columbus Council #426 on Fourth St. and North Stevens Ave."</ref> 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 (film)|Coyote Ugly]]'' (2000) took place in South Amboy, where the film partially is set.<ref name=SAST2022/> In 2002, the South Amboy Neighborhood Preservation Program started. In 2002, the [[Seastreak]] Ferry service began. In 2004, South Amboy joined the New Jersey [[List of Main Street Programs in the United States#New Jersey|Main Street Program]]. In 2010, the [[YMCA]] and [[senior center]] opened.<ref name="Historical Archives"/>

South Amboy has passed through three of the five types of New Jersey municipalities. It was first mentioned on May 28, 1782, in minutes of the [[Board of County Commissioners (New Jersey)|Board of Chosen Freeholders]] as having been formed from [[Perth Amboy, New Jersey|Perth Amboy Township]]. It was formally incorporated as a [[Township (New Jersey)|township]] by the [[Township Act of 1798]] on February 21, 1798. Over the next 90 years, portions split off to form [[Monroe Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey|Monroe Township]] (April 9, 1838), [[Old Bridge Township, New Jersey|Madison Township]] (March 2, 1869; later renamed as Old Bridge Township) and [[Sayreville, New Jersey|Sayreville Township]] (April 6, 1876; later Borough of Sayreville). Other modern municipalities included in these splits are [[Jamesburg, New Jersey|Jamesburg]], [[South Brunswick, New Jersey|South Brunswick]], and [[Cranbury, New Jersey|Cranbury]].<ref name=":0" /> As of February 25, 1888, South Amboy [[borough (New Jersey)|borough]] was formed, replacing South Amboy Township. On April 11, 1908, South Amboy was incorporated as a city, replacing South Amboy borough, confirmed by a referendum held on July 21, 1908.<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. 173. Accessed May 30, 2024.</ref><ref>Honeyman, Abraham Van Doren. [https://books.google.com/books?id=nOkkAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA262 ''Index-analysis of the Statutes of New Jersey, 1896-1909: Together with References to All Acts, and Parts of Acts, in the 'General Statutes' and Pamphlet Laws Expressly Repealed: and the Statutory Crimes of New Jersey During the Same Period''], p. 262. New Jersey Law Journal Publishing Company, 1910. Accessed October 6, 2015.</ref>

===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 [[T. A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant explosion|1918 explosions]] occurred during World War I at the Gillespie Shell Loading Plant, just south of the town. The [[South Amboy powder pier explosion|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.<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/10/05/97030444.pdf "Great Munition Plant Blown Up; 100 May Be Dead"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 5, 1918. Accessed June 1, 2014.</ref><ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/10/06/98271844.pdf "Day of Explosions and Fire Finishes Shell Plant Ruin"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 6, 1918. Accessed June 1, 2014.</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |first=Frank |last=Yusko |title=The Morgan Explosion of 1918 |url=http://www.visionaryvideostudios.com/1918morganexplosion.html |publisher=Visionary Video Studios |access-date=March 31, 2015}}</ref><ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1950/05/20/113155917.pdf "Martial Law Set; Scene of the Explosion in New Jersey"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', May 20, 1950. Accessed June 1, 2014.</ref><ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1950/05/21/121575053.pdf "Jersey Blast Toll 4 Dead, 22 Missing; Loss Is in Millions"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', May 21, 1950. Accessed June 1, 2014.</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |first=Frank |last=Yusko |title=The Powder Pier Explosion of 1950 |url=http://www.visionaryvideostudios.com/1950southamboyblast.html |publisher=Visionary Video Studios |access-date=March 31, 2015}}</ref>