Ambo Point

At the place called Ompoge, meaning 'point,' Perth Amboy's history began. The Lenni Lenape used these beaches for thousands of years before any European settlers arrived, and in 1651 the land was deeded by the Lenni Lenape to Augustine Herman, a Bohemian-born entrepreneur from New Amsterdam. Later, this Native American place name became "Ambo" and then "Amboy" in English usage. This section of the waterfront was where the Proprietors built the first houses in 1683, where access to the water was easier without descending a steep cliff. During most of the 19th century, Perth Amboy was a fashionable resort, and Water Street was lined with grand Victorian houses whose large porches caught the summer breezes. Remnants of the beaches lasted into the early 1960s, when the water became too polluted for swimming, and the well-tended gardens along Water Street disappeared as bulkheads edged the entire point and public park space expanded.

Perth Amboy, New Jersey · United States