Peabody, KS

Peabody had 937 residents in 2020, in Marion County where the Flint Hills meet the Great Plains. The city took its name from F. H. Peabody of Boston, a former vice president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Agriculture and railroading helped the place grow, and Peabody’s 1880s main street remains one of the region’s most recognizable historic centers. The entire downtown district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, giving the brick storefronts and older civic buildings a strong connection to the city’s first decades.

Peabody’s biggest annual tradition is its Fourth of July celebration, a fireworks event that has drawn people from far beyond Marion County for more than a century. City Park holds the display, along with a swimming pool, playgrounds, picnic areas, and the Peabody-Burns football field. The city’s first agricultural fair was held in 1875, and the Kansas State Fair came to Peabody in 1885. Peabody-Burns USD 398 remains the largest employer, with schools serving Peabody, Burns, and the surrounding rural area.