Let’s party like it’s 1897!

Blog

As we make our way through a time of social isolation, let’s look back at Peabody’s Annual Firemen’s Ball. At the turn of the 20th Century, this event was held at the Peabody Opera House, now known as City Hall’s auditorium. The Boston...

How far back does Peabody’s leather history go?

Blog, PHS and the Community

It is difficult to pinpoint exactly when Peabody’s leather working industry started. Indigenous people were the first to use Peabody’s waterways for tanning and dressing the skins of fur animals. The earliest written record of tanning for the English...

A Visit to Ship Rock

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In the 1890s, armed with their cameras and wearing their finest clothes, the visitors, in the below images, explored Peabody’s Ship Rock. For most of its modern history, Ship Rock was a tourist destination and local picnic spot.   Ship Rock is a massive...

New England Fall – Brooksby Farm

Blog

October is here. The air is crisper and the bright foliage is back. Fall in New England is all about apples. Let’s explore Peabody’s favorite apple orchard. The Felton Family & Brooksby Farm If you travel down Felton Street today, you will pass the...

Peabody & the Topsfield Fair

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Did you know the Topsfield Fair was held in Peabody from 1895 to 1909? Fair in 1902, Peabody, Emerson Park Fair in 1903, Peabody, Emerson Park The Essex Agricultural Society Fair, now known as the Topsfield Fair, was looking for a permanent home in 1895. The Fair...

VOTES FOR WOMEN – 1920

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100 years ago – American women finally got the right to vote. Let’s visit Peabody in 1920 – not so different from today and yet a world away. The City of Peabody was preparing for a Presidential Election & women joined the ranks of the voting...