Peabody, Massachusetts

For other uses, see Peabody.

Peabody, Massachusetts
—  City  —
Peabody
Seal
Nickname(s): Tanner City, The Leather City
Location in Essex County in Massachusetts
Coordinates: 42°31′40″N 70°55′45″W
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Essex
Settled	1626
Incorporated	1855
Government
• Type	Mayor-council city
• Mayor	Ted Bettencourt
Area
• Total	16.8 sq mi (43.5 km2)
• Land	16.2 sq mi (42.0 km2)
• Water	0.6 sq mi (1.5 km2)
Elevation	17 ft (5 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	51,251
• Density	Bad rounding here3,100/sq mi (Bad rounding here1,200/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	01960 / 01961
Area code(s)	351 / 978
FIPS code	25-52490
GNIS feature ID	0614307
Website	Peabody-MA.gov, Official Web Site

Peabody /ˈpiːbədi/ is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 51,251. Peabody is located in the North Shore region of Massachusetts.

History

First known as the Northfields, "the Farms", and Brooksby, the area was settled about 1626 within Salem, which had itself been founded in 1626 and incorporated in 1629. In 1752, the area was set off from Salem and incorporated as part of Danvers. It was usually referred to as "the South Parish", associated with the church located in the center (now Peabody Square). In 1855, the community broke away from Danvers to become the town of South Danvers, incorporated that May 18. The name was changed on April 30, 1868, to Peabody after George Peabody, a noted philanthropist. It would be incorporated as a city in 1916.

Giles Corey, the only person pressed to death by stones in the Salem witch hysteria of 1692, had his farm and was buried here beside his wife next to Crystal Lake.

On the morning of October 28, 1915, 21 young girls lost their lives in a fire at the St. John's School on Chestnut Street in the downtown area. The 21 girls who were trapped were found after the fire subsided, huddled together and burnt beyond recognition, on the other side of the entrance - just steps away from survival. All the teachers escaped with their lives. The students' deaths were privately mourned in Peabody and were rarely mentioned, as many tried to forget the tragedy. Because of this, Peabody became the first city to make a law that said all doors must push out.

The town began as a farming community, but its streams attracted mills which operated by water power. In particular, Peabody was a major center of New England's leather industry, and tanneries remained a linchpin of the city's economy into the second half of the 20th century. The tanneries have since closed, but the city remains known locally as the Leather City or Tanner City, and its high school sports teams are nicknamed the Tanners.

The loss of the tanneries was a 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, it joined the automobile revolution, hosting the pioneer Brass Era company the Corwin Manufacturing Company. The Northshore Mall, originally the Northshore Shopping Center, is one of the region's largest malls. It opened in 1958 and is now the city's largest taxpayer. Centennial Park, an industrial park in the center of the city, has attracted several medical and technology companies.

Meanwhile, West Peabody, which was mostly farmland as recently as the 1950s, has been developed into a middle-to-upper class residential area.

Brooksby Farm, a historic farm managed by the City of Peabody, is a 275-acre (1.11 km²) working farm and conservation area that has been one of the city's most popular destinations for decades.

Peabody is the location of the Salem Country Club, a private country club with a professional golf course. In the past, the club has hosted the U.S. Senior Open in 2001 and the U.S. Women's Open in 1954 and 1984.

• 

  City Hall in 1912

• 

  Peabody Square c. 1906

• 

  Peabody Institute Library c. 1912

Geography

Peabody is located at 42°32′3″N 70°57′41″W (42.534045, -70.961465). 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) of it, or 3.46%, is water. 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 southeast end. The neighborhood of South Peabody lies south of it, and the more suburban neighborhood of West Peabody lies to the northwest 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, and is 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 bordered by Middleton to the north, Danvers to the northeast, Salem to the east, Lynn to the southwest and Lynnfield to the west.

Demographics

See also: List of Massachusetts locations by per capita income

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1870	7,343	—
1880	9,028	+22.9%
1890	10,158	+12.5%
1900	11,523	+13.4%
1910	15,721	+36.4%
1920	19,552	+24.4%
1930	21,345	+9.2%
1940	21,711	+1.7%
1950	22,645	+4.3%
1960	32,202	+42.2%
1970	48,080	+49.3%
1980	45,976	−4.4%
1990	47,039	+2.3%
2000	48,129	+2.3%
2010	51,251	+6.5%
= population estimate. Source: United States Census records and Population Estimates Program data.

As of the census[10] of 2012, there were 53,682 people residing in the city. The population density was 3,079.5 people per square mile (1,133.1/km²). There were 18,898 housing units at an average density of 1,733.6 per square mile (444.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 80.4% White, 7.3% African American. 12.6% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 1.9% Asian, 1.83% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races according to Census 2009.

There were 18,581 households out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.3% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age of people in Peabody is 40.5. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $54,829, and the median income for a family was $65,483. Males had a median income of $44,192 versus $32,152 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,827. About 3.7% of families and 5.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.4% of those under age 18 and 7.4% 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.

Economy

A. C. Lawrence Co. c. 1910

Major employers

• Analogic Corporation
• Boston Acoustics
• Christian Book Distributors
• JEOL USA
• Lahey Clinic
• Northshore Mall
• Rousselot Gelatine, formerly Eastman Gelatine division of Kodak
• Saucony

Education

Peabody Veterans Memorial High School is a grade 9-12 public high school located in Peabody. The teams are known as the Peabody Tanners. As of April 2008, there were 1,898 students enrolled in the school, and 146 teachers.

Bishop Fenwick High School, a small Catholic high school serving the region, is located in the city near the boundary with Salem, Danvers, and Beverly.

J. Henry Higgins Middle School is 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.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Peabody is the site of the junction of Interstate 95, Massachusetts Route 128 and U.S. Route 1. After the junction with Route 1, the two highways split, with Interstate 95 going north 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 MBTA Bus service pass through town. The Logan Express also stops on Route 1 in Peabody. The Springfield Terminal rail line passes through town, with one line passing from Lynnfield towards Danvers, and another, mostly abandoned, line passing from Middleton to Salem. The nearest commuter rail service is in Salem, along the Newburyport/Rockport Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail, with service to Boston's North Station. The nearest airport is the Beverly Municipal Airport, and the nearest national and international air service is located at Boston's Logan International Airport.

Notable people

• Jeff Allison, former professional baseball pitcher for the Florida Marlins organization from 2003-2011
• Samantha Arsenault, Olympic champion swimmer
• Matt Bloom, professional wrestler
• Nathaniel Bowditch, early American astronomer, mathematician, and navigator
• Bobby Carpenter, NHL player in the 1980s and '90s
• Giles Corey, Salem witch hysteria victim
• Martha Corey, Salem witch hysteria victim
• Chick Davies, Major League Baseball player, 1914–1926
• Jerry DeLucca, former professional football player, New England Patriots
• Gary Gulman, comedian
• Bobby Hanson, professional hockey player and actor
• Hrishikesh Hirway, musician and vocalist, The One AM Radio
• Daniel P. King, congressman, 1843–1850
• Christina Kirkman, teen actress, comedian, and circus performer
• Joe Klein, author, journalist (worked for The Peabody Times in the 1970s)
• Rejean "Reggie" Lemelin, professional ice hockey player, Boston Bruins
• Steve Lomasney, former Major League Baseball player
• Nicholas Mavroules, mayor 1967-1978, congressman 1979–1993
• Ryan Montbleau, professional musician
• Jonathan Mover, professional drummer
• George Peabody, merchant, philanthropist
• Marc Predka, American rapper known as Tha Trademarc
• John Proctor, Salem witch hysteria victim
• Pauline Sperry, mathematician b. 1885
• John Tudor, Major League Baseball pitcher, 1979–1990
• Jack Welch, industrialist
• Nancy Werlin, novelist (born and raised in Peabody)

External links

• City of Peabody official website
• Peabody Historical Society
• Peabody Institute Library
• Ship Rock Trail
• St. John's Fire
• Brooksby Farm
• Jewish Community Center of the North Shore (provides community programs for all families of Peabody and surrounding communities)