Peabody, Massachusetts

Peabody
City
Peabody City Hall in 2021
FIPS code		25-52490
GNIS feature ID	0614307
Website	www.peabody-ma.gov

Peabody (

history.

History

The area was long inhabited by Native American people known as the Naumkeag.^[3][4][5]

The area was settled as part of Salem in 1626 by a small group of English colonists from Cape Ann led by Roger Conant. It was subsequently referred to as the Northfields, Salem Farms, and Brooksby.^[6] Several area residents were accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials of the late 17th century, three of whom were executed (John Proctor, Giles Corey, and Martha Corey).^[7]

In 1752, the area was set off from

status in 1916. The western, less densely populated area of town is often separately, yet unofficially, referred to as West Peabody.

Peabody started off as a

industry, which attracted immigrants from all around the world.

Panoramic map

of Peabody (1877)

By 1915, one-third of the population had been born outside the United States.

On the morning of October 28, 1915, twenty-one young children were killed in the

public buildings

be push-open, rather than by handle or knob.[9]^[10]

The tanneries that lined Peabody's "Ottoman Street" remained a linchpin of the city's economy into the second half of the 20th century. The tanneries have since closed or been relocated elsewhere, but the city remains known locally as the Leather City or Tanner City. The mascot of Peabody Veterans Memorial High School is named the Tanners.

The loss of the tanneries was a huge blow to Peabody's economy, but the city has made up for the erosion of its industrial base, at least in part, through other forms of economic development. Early in the 20th century, Peabody joined the

The

conservation area

has been one of the city's most popular destinations for decades.

Peabody is also the location of the Salem Country Club, a privately owned country club with a professional golf course, which hosted the U.S. Senior Open in 2001 and 2017, and the U.S. Women's Open in 1954 and 1984.

• 
  City Hall in 1912
• 
  Peabody Square, c. 1906
• 
  Peabody Institute Library, c. 1912
• 
  Independence Greenway
• 
  The former tanneries of Peabody
• 
  George Peabody, the city's namesake

Geography

Peabody is located at 42°32′3″N 70°57′41″W / 42.53417°N 70.96139°W / 42.53417; -70.96139 (42.534045, −70.961465).^[14] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.8 square miles (43.5 km²), of which 16.2 square miles (42.0 km²) is land and 0.58 square miles (1.5 km²) or 3.46%, is water.^[15] The northwestern border of Peabody lies along the Ipswich River, with brooks feeding it, and the Waters River, a tributary of the Danvers River, drains the northeast part of town. Several other ponds and a portion of Suntaug Lake lie within town. The largest protected portion of the city is the Brooksby Farm, whose land includes the Nathaniel Felton Houses.

The city is wedge-shaped, with the city center located in the wider northeast end. The neighborhood of South Peabody lies south of it, and the more suburban neighborhood of West Peabody, where the high school is, lies to the west of the city center, separated by the highways and the Proctor neighborhood. Peabody's center is 2 miles (3 km) from the center of Salem, 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Boston, 18 miles (29 km) west-southwest of Gloucester, and 18 miles (29 km) southeast of Lawrence. Peabody is also bordered by Middleton to the northwest, Danvers to the north, Salem to the east, Lynn to the south and Lynnfield to the southwest.

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
United States Census records and Population Estimates Program data.[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] Source: U.S. Decennial Census[25]

As of the census of 2010,

, and 4.5% other Hispanic or Latino), 1.9% Asian, 3.8% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races.

The city has had a very large Greek population ever since the early 20th century. Ever since the mid 20th century, the Portuguese population has been very present, especially from the Azores. In the 21st century, Brazilians came in large swathes.

There were 21,313 households, of which 26.8% included children under the age of 18, 48.4% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. Of all households, 31.4% were made up of individuals, and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28, and the average family size was 3.02.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.1% under the age of 20, 22.5% from 20 to 39, 29.8% from 40 to 59, and 26.5% who were 60 years of age or older. The median age of people in Peabody was 44.6. For every 100 females, there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $65,515, and the median income for a family was $80,471. Males had a median income of $55,352 versus $44,167 for females. About 4.4% of families and 6.3% of the population were below the

, including 5.8% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.

In the April 2009 edition of Forbes magazine, Peabody was ranked the 14th most livable city in the United States.^[26]

Government

Peabody is represented in the state legislature by officials elected from the following districts:

• Massachusetts Senate's 2nd Essex district^[27]
• Massachusetts House of Representatives' 12th Essex district^[28]
• Massachusetts House of Representatives' 13th Essex district

Economy

Major employers

• Analogic Corporation
• Boston Children's Hospital
• Boston Acoustics
• Carl Zeiss AG
• Christian Book Distributors
• JEOL
• Lahey Hospital & Medical Center
• Meridian Interstate Bancorp
• Northshore Mall
• Rousselot Gelatine (formerly a division of Kodak)
• Saucony
• UTC Aerospace Systems

Education

• Peabody Veterans Memorial High School, a grade 9–12 public high school serving Peabody residents. The athletic teams are known as the Peabody Tanners. As of April 2008, there were 1,898 students enrolled in the school, and 146 teachers.^[29]
• Bishop Fenwick High School, a Catholic private high school serving the entire North Shore region, is located in the city near the boundary with Salem, Danvers, and Beverly. As of 2017, enrollment is just under 600 students.
• J. Henry Higgins Middle School, a grade 6–8 public middle school, with a hawk as its mascot.
• Covenant Christian Academy, a Christian and classical preparatory school for students Pre-K through 12th grade. Moved into the old John F. Kennedy
  Junior High School in West Peabody in 2005. They serve students from over 45 cities and towns in eastern Massachusetts.
• St. John the Baptist School, a private Catholic school that teaches up to grade 8. It currently has approximately 400 students.
• Peabody P.R.E.P. Personalized Remote Education Program

Public elementary schools

• Captain Samuel Brown Elementary
• John E. Burke Elementary
• Thomas Carroll Elementary
• Center Elementary
• John E. McCarthy Elementary
• South Memorial Elementary
• William A. Welch Elementary
• West Memorial Elementary[30]

Infrastructure

Transportation

Peabody is the site of the large intersection of Interstate 95, Massachusetts Route 128, Massachusetts Route 129 and U.S. Route 1. Route 1 heads north–south through the city as the main route between Boston and its northeast suburbs, and Route 129 is an east–west surface route that runs concurrently with Route 1 in the neighboring community of Lynnfield. I-95 and Route 128 share a 37-mile long concurrency as a half beltway around Boston, but in Peabody, the two highways split, with Interstate 95 going north into New Hampshire and Route 128 going east towards Gloucester and Cape Ann. Massachusetts Route 114 passes through the northeast corner of town, going from Danvers towards Salem, with an intersection at Route 128's Exit 25, next to the Northshore Mall. The southern terminus of Route 35 is at Route 114, just a half mile before Route 114 enters Salem.

Several lines of the

.

Utilities

The municipally-owned Peabody Municipal Light Plant provides electricity to the city. Natural gas service in Peabody is provided by National Grid. Cable television in Peabody is provided by Comcast and the City in June 2019 issued a second Cable TV license to RCN.^[31][32]

Notable people

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Peabody, Massachusetts.

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Peabody".

• City of Peabody official website
• Peabody Historical Society
• Peabody Institute Library