A Naming Story From the Town’s Earliest Days
In the early years of Sandwich’s development, the future town nearly bore the name of one of its principal founders, Almon Gage (1804–1880).
Before Sandwich was known as Sandwich, it briefly stood at a crossroads of identity.
In the early 1850s, as the settlement was being surveyed and formally platted, a name had not yet been decided upon for the emerging village. Much of the land upon which the town stood belonged to Almon Gage, one of its principal early landholders and a central figure in its development.
When the original survey of the village was completed in 1853–1854, it was proposed that the new community be named “Almon” in his honor. Contemporary county histories note that the suggestion arose directly from Gage’s ownership of the original plat and his role in laying out the town lots.
He declined the distinction.
Instead, the settlement was initially known as Newark Station, reflecting its function as a railroad stop. As the community grew and its identity took clearer shape, the name was changed in 1856 to Sandwich, reportedly influenced by “Long John” Wentworth and named after Sandwich, New Hampshire.
Had Gage accepted the proposal, the city might today be known by an entirely different name.
The episode reveals something about both the man and the moment. Though Gage donated land for the railroad depot, laid out the town site, and helped secure the community’s economic future, he did not attach his name to it. The decision reflects a practical humility characteristic of many frontier builders, whose contributions were woven into the town’s fabric rather than stamped upon its title.
History remembers the name Sandwich. But for a brief and littl known moment in its earliest years, the town nearly bore the name of one of its foundational figures.
Sources
History of DeKalb County, Illinois. Chicago, 1878.
Obituary of Almon Gage, The True Republican (Sycamore, Illinois) January 3rd, 1880.
Portrait and Biographical Album of DeKalb County, Illinois. Chicago, 1885
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