Peabody City Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Peabody City Park
|
|
Football Stadium (looking south-west), 2010. These limestone bleachers were built in 1938 by the WPA.
|
|
 Location in Kansas
|
|
| Location | Entrance at corner of 2nd and Locust Street Peabody, Kansas, 66866 |
|---|---|
| NRHP reference No. | 11001032 |
| Added to NRHP | January 20, 2012 |
Peabody City Park is a special place in Peabody, Kansas, United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 2012. This means it's recognized as an important historical site. The park is about three blocks long and two blocks wide. You can find it in the southwest part of Peabody.
A Look Back: History of Peabody City Park
Peabody City Park has a long and interesting history. It started as a place for county fairs and later became a famous spot for horse racing.
Early Days: Fairs and Exhibitions
The very first agricultural "county fair" was held here in 1875. It was a big event each year for many years. People from all over Marion County, Kansas would come to show off their farm goods.
In 1881, a special building called the Fair Floral Exhibition Hall was built. It's unique because it has eight sides, like an octagon. This building is still there, but it's not open to the public. It's the only original fair building left.
The Kansas State Fair Comes to Town
In September 1885, Peabody hosted the Kansas State Fair! It was a huge event. One amazing thing at the fair was a temporary monument to Ulysses S. Grant, a famous general who had recently passed away. This monument was a tall, pointed structure, about 40 feet (12 meters) high. It was made from 40 bushels of corn!
The fair also had a large grandstand that could hold 2,000 people. They came to watch exciting horse races. The race track was used for many different events. These included horse walking teams, trotting races, running races, and even daily chariot races. There was also a dining hall big enough to feed 10,000 people every day!
Home of Champions: Famous Race Horses
Around the early 1900s, Peabody was known for its amazing race horses. Three of these horses even became world champions!
- Joe Young was called the "iron horse." He was sold for $10,000, which was a huge amount of money back then. He was the first horse west of the Mississippi River to sell for such a high price.
- Joe Patchen was Joe Young's son, born in 1889. He won his owner $40,000 in races and was later sold for $44,000.
- Dan Patch was Joe Patchen's son, born in 1896. He was sold in 1907 for an incredible $60,000!
Other famous local horses included McKinney and Silver Sign. Another horse, Silverthorne, even traveled to Europe. He competed in Austria for three years against the best race horses there.
Becoming a City Park
In 1900, the Marion County Agricultural Society sold the fairgrounds to the city of Peabody. That's when it officially became the Peabody City Park.
In 1938, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) helped improve the park. The WPA was a government program that created jobs during the Great Depression. They built the football stadium's limestone bleachers, which are the seating areas. They also built west and north walls, picnic tables, and fire pits.
Sports and Celebrations
Peabody City Park has been a hub for sports and fun events:
- From 1950 to 1960, the high school boys' baseball state tournaments (Class B) were held at the park's baseball diamond.
- In the 1960s and 1970s, the park hosted huge Independence Day celebrations on July 4th. More than 30,000 people would attend! There was even a carnival with rides.
- In November 1977, the high school boys' football state final (Class 2A) was held here. Beloit took first place, and Peabody came in second. A famous coach, Dennis Franchione, was Peabody's head coach at that time.
- In July 2011, the park celebrated 90 years of fireworks shows. The fireworks are famous for their grand finale, called "Battle of New Orleans." It explodes over one million individual items!
In January 2012, Peabody City Park was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Peabody City Park Today
Today, Peabody City Park is still a great place for families and sports. It has a fun playground area for kids. You'll also find many picnic tables and shelters throughout the park. It's open to everyone when the weather is good.
The park also has several sports facilities:
- Football Field: The Peabody-Burns High School football team plays their home games here every fall.
- Baseball Field: This field is open all year round, depending on the weather.
- Outdoor Swimming Pool: The pool is usually open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
