Ambia was laid out by Ezekiel M. Talbot and his wife Marietta on
February 22, 1875, and named for their daughter Ambia Talbot. (The
couple had two years earlier planned the nearby town of Talbot.)
Its first building was a house erected by James C. Pugh which was soon
joined by a grain elevator, general store and blacksmith. A drug store,
hardware store, hotel, physician and a variety of other establishments
followed.