PEABODY A Brief Summary of the Resources and Advantages of Our Little City Transcribed from the 19 June 1901 edition of the Peabody News by: Charmaine Keith (charmain@southwind.net) 09 October 1998 --------------------------------------------------------------------- KSGENWEB INTERNET GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY COPYRIGHT NOTICE: In keeping with the KSGenWeb policy of providing free information on the Internet, this data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or other gain. Copying of the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. --------------------------------------------------------------------- When the pioneer less then a generation ago looked down upon the site of Peabody from the upland to the south he saw a section of undulating prairie covered with bluestem and divided by the few native trees that fringed the banks of the Doyle. From the same point to-day he would look down upon a forest of elms, maples and their deciduous companions, with here and there a church spire or some public building towering above the foliage. If he descends into this valley forest he will find himself in the best little prairie city of the west. The bluestem has given place to the lawn grasses; the paths in the prairie to well graded streets and avenues; the old house hastily constructed, to the beautiful home of some successful business man or farmer; the little frame school house to a more pretentious one of stone, and that to a better one, and a still better one. Two great railway systems have crossed their steel here. Milling, manufacturing and large mercantile enterprises have sprung up. Six Protestant churches flourish, social and literary clubs thrive and fraternal and benevolent orders are firmly established. Its inhabitants are happy and prosperous Americans, mostly from the northern states. The men who wore the "blue" were its early settlers. The boom and financial crash of the 80's did not leave it a wreck or deserted village. It has never been the scene of a bank failure nor of a boom. PARK Within the last two years a tract of twenty-three acres formerly used as a fair ground and within four blocks of the business heart of the city has been purchased for a public park. It was already bordered with several rows of cottonwood trees, and to those have been added over nine hundred trees from the best varieties of shade and ornamental trees that thrive in this latitude. A ball ground, golf links and a target ground are already features added to it. In the course of a short time it is expected that a large artificial lake will be constructed. The Ladies Afternoon Club have contributed beautiful settees and other public-spirited citizens have set out choice trees and ornamental shrubs. The work has been done in pursuance of a plan prepared by Prof. Walters of the State Agricultural College, who has few equals as a landscape gardener. Already it is a place of beauty; in a few years it will be a park which by reason of its size, its natural beauty, the art in its plan its nearness to the heart of the city will have no superior in the state. WATER WORKS The waterworks are own by the city and furnish an ample supply for fire protection and individual use, not of water from some creek or muddy stream, but of pure, clear, healthful water, pumped from six large wells at a point in the northeast part of the city remote from any surface contamination. SCHOOLS The school building is a beautiful structure of native limestone containing 12 rooms. It is heated by steam, artistically designed, and provided with every modern convenience for the health and comfort of pupils. On its records 400 are enrolled. Its course extends from the primary work to a complete preparation for admission to any of the higher state institutions of learning. Its corps of teachers is under the able superintendency of Prof. A. H. Bushey, a member of the State Board of Education. The reputation of the city schools is unexcelled in the state and attracts pupils from all of the surrounding townships. LIBRARY Peabody prides itself on its public library. F. H. Peabody, at the time a director of the Santa Fe railroad, erected the building and furnished the books that formed its nucleus. The levy of a small annual tax supports it. Each year additions have been made until now it comprises a rare collection of 6,000 of the best volumes to be had for library use. The library proper is approached through a public reading room. Its doors are open every weekday, afternoon and evening. On its tables may be found a good assortment of weekly and daily papers and the cream of home and foreign periodical literature. Nor are the citizens slow to make use of it. A competent librarian is in charge to attend to the wants of its patrons and make useful suggestions to readers. Her records show that more than 13,00 volumes are annually taken from the building. LECTURE ASSOCIATION Next to its library, Peabody boasts of its Lecture Association. It is not a new organization, born to live but a day. It has passed its sixth successful year. Under the patronage the best citizens discreet management, it has, during the period of its existence, furnished each year a program of lectures, musical and entertainments, that could not tail to edify any community. An average of $853 has been spent upon its course for each of the last two years and the best talent to be had has appeared under it auspices. OPERA HOUSE At the outset the Lecture Association was hampered by the back of a suitable auditorium for it's entertainments. Its success and the public spirit of the Masonic Lodge solved the problem between the close of the lecture course season and the opening of another. The Masonic Opera House was built. It is a beautiful structure located on Main Street, BUSINESS A change, too, has come over its business. Its bankers are conservative, wide-awake. The day of the two-per-cent moneylender, who appears in new communities, has gone. Money is plentiful and goes at rates to compete with the institutions of the larger cities. Two banks, one state and one National, enjoy the fullest confidence of their patrons, maintain a healthy rivalry and do a successful business. The merchants are twentieth century men, alive to modern business methods. Their stocks would become any city thrice its size. They are artists in displaying their goods, and graduates in the science of selling. Manufacturing, which generally comes to a city in its maturer years, has obtained a good foothold. The Peabody Tank, manufactured by C. E. Irwin, is known throughout the Southwest. A large force is constantly keep busy. The machinery for the manufacture of galvanized iron washing machines is being put in place, and this factory well be started in a short time. Irwin Bros. Are arranging to engage in the jobbing of buggies, pumps and windmills. They have their contracts placed for stock. Buildings rented, and will soon start the business. Traveling salesmen will be employed. THE FARMER The surrounding country is well settled with prosperous, up-to-date farmers and stockmen. They have found out what to raise and how to raise it. To the crops of fifteen years ago they have added liberally of alfalfa, millet, sorghum and Kaffir Corn. The old-style cattle feeder has given place to the scientific feeder with the balanced ration. Within the radius of Peabody are eight large cattle feeding establishments provided with their own steam and gasoline power for grinding. Within a day's drive to the succulent pastures of western Chase, Northern Butler and eastern Marion Counties, and in the heart of the best country for raising corn, sorghum, Kaffir corn and "roughness," Peabody has always been one of the greatest centers of successful cattle feeding in the west. The demand for feed is always up to the supply, and notwithstanding large crops Peabody is a large importer of corn for its hogs and cattle. No better condition could obtain for the farmer; he sells not at shipping prices, but at importing prices. He is fast becoming the autocrat of the country. His are much of the bank stocks and most of bank deposits. The scores of his fine homes are an index of his business success. The city has been blessed with good government. Its money has been well spent. It is not tax ridden. It has never voted bonds to aid corporations or private enterprises, nor invested for it self in anything but permanent public improvements. It has not had an open saloon since the days of prohibition. Its streets and alleys are kept clean; its stores attractive; it's beautiful homes inviting. Its library has done not a little to make it a place of more than ordinary intellectual activity. Its citizens are public spirited. If you would find an ideal community for a home, if you would find a promising place for business, go where you will find no better place than Peabody. --------------------------------------------------------------------- KSGENWEB INTERNET GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY COPYRIGHT NOTICE: In keeping with the KSGenWeb policy of providing free information on the Internet, this data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or other gain. Copying of the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. ---------------------------------------------------------------------