On July 22, 1930, 77-year-old Frank W. Peabody passed away at his home in Edmonds after residing in Edmonds for nearly three decades.  Descriptions of Frank Peabody and his business practices in written histories, newspaper clippings and city records indicate a complex individual. A few of the adjectives used to describe him were shrewd, charismatic, manipulative, whimsical, astute, eccentric and weird.

Peabody’s early years: 

There is little documented history of Frank W. Peabody’s early life. According to Ray Cloud’s account in Edmonds, Gem of the Puget Sound, Frank was born in Massachusetts around 1853-55 and like many young men left the east coast, traveling west in search of adventure and fortune.

Ray Cloud’s account reads:

When he became 21 he lost no time in striking out west. He first kept a frontier store in Fort Worth, Texas, then tried his hand at prospecting in New Mexico and Arizona with indifferent success. He finally owned a hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona, but when it burned to the ground his savings were almost wiped out. Migrating again, Peabody reached Seattle with but $5 in his pocket and resolved to risk everything on the turn of the cards. He pawned his watch and went to one of the gambling houses, which were operated wide open in Seattle in 1887, and he won $1,400 at faro.

With his winnings, Peabody persuaded Joseph Pearsall, a well-known prospector, to go in search of a fortune in the foothills of the Cascade Mountain range, approximately 40 miles northeast of Seattle.

The discovery of Monte Cristo

After outfitting himself and Pearsall, they struck out in mid-June 1889 to investigate the Cascade region. Approximately two weeks after their departure, on July 4th, they awoke just as the sun was rising in the east. What happened next is further described in Ray Cloud’s account.

While enjoying the view from the summit of Silver Tip, the highest peak in the Silver Creek area of Eastern Snohomish County, the men saw, through their field glasses, a large vein of ore in the side of a range of mountains to the east. 

Discovery of what appeared to be a fabulously rich and extensive vein of gold and other materials prompted Peabody to name it “Monte Cristo.”

After verifying their findings, Peabody and Pearsall returned to Seattle and filed their claims to the area under the name of “1776 Independence Group.” Peabody however, continued to refer to the area as “Monte Cristo,” apparently in reference to Alexandre Dumas’ novel, The Count of Monte Cristo.” 

Word of the discovery spread fast, and claims were staked quickly to the areas surrounding the original claims. By 1891, 40 claims had been filed and 13 mining operations, including the introduction of a tramway into the area, were underway. The discovery attracted large investors from the east and money poured into the area.

Peabody and Pearsall sold most of their claims at a healthy profit to John D. Rockefeller and other capitalists, although Peabody retained a portion of his holdings. The new owners built hotels, a saloon and a tramway and hauled the various materials to a smelter they had built in Everett.

Author’s note: The surface veins of gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc unfortunately did not continue underground.  The surface deposits quickly were depleted and after several years of further unsuccessful exploration and severe flooding in the area, the mining operations were closed in 1907. In total, approximately $3 million of ore were mined in the area.

Peabody’s next venture 

With his proceeds Peabody became a part of a Seattle syndicate, Coon, Kingston and Peabody, in 1893, which specialized in land speculation.  During the next seven years the syndicate purchased, subdivided and sold large sections of land around the Seattle area.

In 1900, the firm approached George Brackett, Captain William Hamlin and other landowners regarding the purchase of what is now the lower portion of Edmonds. The principals involved came to an agreement and Coon, Kingston and Peabody took ownership of the properties previously held by the earliest settlers in mid 1900.

The following year, Peabody came to Edmonds as the manager of the company’s holdings, although he continued to reside in the Seattle area. He retained a small office on 4th Avenue, where he promoted the sale of the syndicate’s properties for the next four years.

An article in the 1905 Edmonds Review read:

F.W. Peabody intends by no distant future to make Edmonds his home is not the least of the promising things in the future of this city.

Mr. P. first became interested here about 15 years ago when he, with Mr. Coon, and Mr. Kingston platted the first addition to the original townsite of Edmonds. Other business interests have made it necessary for him to locate elsewhere, but he always calls Edmonds his home. He is interested in mining properties at Monte Cristo, about 50 miles NE of here and has invested large sums of money in the development of that country, the Pride-Mystery Group, being one of the regular shippers from that section at this time. Mr. P. always hoped to see Edmonds a big RR center and with the building of new roads and the increasing for the facilities for shipping by water expects to see the town take its place among the important cities of the Sound.

Peabody becomes an Edmonds resident

On Sept. 8, 1905, Frank Peabody, 55, married Kittie MacKay, 51, in Tacoma and the following summer moved to Edmonds. After his arrival he erected a building in 1907, known as the Peabody building, at the end of the Edmonds wharf, where he maintained his office and rented space for the storage of equipment to load and offload steamers as well as hay and grain.

A few real estate agents thought his business practices were less than scrupulous, as he placed a large sign on top of the building advertising his real estate enterprises. Any person or family arriving by steamer would have immediately seen the signage as they approached the dock, and he was often there to greet them, and offer his services.

By the end of 1910, Peabody had sold most of the Seattle syndicate’s holdings in the Edmonds area, and turned to personally purchasing and selling tracts, as well as acting as a real estate agent for other property owners.

Author’s note: Peabody also became extremely interested in alternative means of transportation, knowing that it would attract more families and businesses to the Edmonds area. He was the third person to purchase an automobile in Edmonds, purchasing a 1911 Ford, and was a strong advocate for additional improved roads.  He was also a major financial backer along with A.M. Yost in the failed 1911 Seattle-to-Edmonds monorail project, which you can read about here.

Regarding Peabody’s real estate business, the following 1912 Edmonds Tribune-Review advertisement provides us with insights into how he promoted himself and his services.

With his business being largely devoid of responsibilities for the syndicate’s properties Peabody appeared to become more civic-minded, joining the Edmonds Chamber of Commerce. He ran for, and was elected president of, the Edmonds Chamber of Commerce in 1913. His interest in civic matters was met with some skepticism. Some of his competitors felt it might have to do more with promoting his business than it did with promoting the city’s well-being.

If it was Peabody’s strategy to promote his business by being the president of the Chamber of Commerce, it apparently worked as there were multiple reports in the Edmonds Tribune-Review regarding his property sales in 1913.

Author’s note: Peabody’s only other civic involvement was when he was temporarily nominated to be on the school board in 1915-16 but was ultimately not accepted due to the apparent concerns of other board members about his reported cantankerous nature.

Growing business success

By 1915, Peabody’s business had grown to a point where he moved his offices to the southwest corner of 5th and Dayton.

In 1915, at age 60, with his multiple successes came what some considered increasingly eccentric behaviors.  At one point it was reported that he had let his white beard grow to 2 feet long, and in some ways resembled George Bernard Shaw.

As a strict vegetarian, Peabody at times engaged in heated arguments with farm residents on the value of a non-meat diet. A couple of Edmonds residents, however, reported seeing him devouring a large T-bone steak in a Seattle restaurant, which he vehemently denied.

Peabody also took frequent trips on steamboats back and forth to Seattle, not for the enjoyment of visiting Seattle or the scenic travel, but to gamble with passengers. He reportedly was extremely engaging but also an astute gambler who often took passengers’ monies if they were foolish enough to play cards with him. At one point, it was reported that several steamboat captains had considered banning him from their boats.

Despite what some people deemed “strange or weird” behaviors, Peabody continued to prosper via self-promotion and intellect.

In June 1924, Peabody surprised his rivals by divesting interest in his personal properties via a sales agreement with Hunber Land Company, Seattle, which was poised to build houses on the Peabody lots.

Despite selling his own properties, Peabody continued to be active in the local real estate market.

 In June 1927, at age 74, Peabody stunned his real estate competitors with an announcement that — representing multiple property owners — he was making 100 lots available in the downtown section of Edmonds, via a one-day public auction.

The following week’s issue of the Edmonds Tribune-Review reported the initial sales that occurred at the one-day auction event.

Reportedly, 20 additional lots were sold within the next two weeks once financing was arranged, making Peabody’s promotion a rousing success.

Peabody continued to work on a part-time basis until his passing on July 22, 1930, at the age of 77.

The Edmonds Tribune’s July 25 announcement regarding the Peabody funeral read as follows:

F.W. Peabody Passes Away

Funeral To Be Held Today For Pioneer Real Estate Man of Edmonds

“Frank Willis Peabody, 77, real estate and insurance man in Edmonds since 1907, and instrumental in development of the original townsite many years earlier, passed away at his home here at about five o’clock Tuesday evening after an illness of only a few days.

Mr. Peabody was born at Conway, Massachusetts. He was one of the pioneers in the Northwest, engaging in the real estate business in Seattle.

In 1905 at Tacoma occurred his marriage to Kittie A. Mackay who survives him.  He also leaves a brother, Fred, who is a stockbroker at Waterbury, Conn. Another brother, Edward, preceded him in death.

Funeral services will be held this afternoon, Friday, at one o’clock, at the Home Undertaking Parlors, Ninth and Union, Seattle.  Reverend. J.D.O. Powers will be the speaker.

Frank Peabody was well known throughout this section since the days when the steamboat furnished the principal means of transportation to and from Edmonds. He has always been active in organizations for the development of this district, and was an active member of the Chamber of Commerce until the time of his death. Proceeds from the sale of city property donated to the Chamber by Peabody now comprise the major portion of its advertising fund.

Though modest and retiring in disposition and considered rather eccentric, Mr. Peabody had many friends here, and he will be missed from the business life of the community.

After the funeral, Peabody’s ashes were buried under what has been called Peabody Rock east of the town of Monte Cristo. In 1963, a plaque was attached to the rock marking the grave site of both Frank Peabody and his wife Kittie.

In reflection 

As people reflected on Peabody, they described him as an enigma. Shrewd and borderline unscrupulous both in his business and in gambling, he conversely could be charismatic and engaging. Reportedly after the big snowstorm of 1916, which dumped nearly 3 feet of snow on Edmonds, Peabody at age 63 was seen sledding down the hills on Dayton Street with some neighborhood children.

Peabody proudly drove his potential clients around to see various properties in his expensive cars, entertaining them as they went. But he was also considered miserly at times.

One of the stories about Peabody in Ray Cloud’s Edmonds: The Gem of Puget Sound recounts an occurrence involving a stunt pilot and Frank Peabody. Cloud’s account reads:

not long after the first World War when a stunt flyer was taking passengers up from Edmonds’ beach in a two-seated open-cockpit biplane for $5 for five minutes, Peabody approached the pilot after almost each landing to offer him $3 for a flight.  Finally, when there were no more $5 passengers and the tide had not yet covered the sandy beach, Peabody was offered a three-minute ride for $3.  He clambered into the seat like a youngster going to the circus and was carried off into the blue with his white beard swept back over either shoulder by the wash of the propeller.

If the flight occurred around 1920 it was probable that the bi-plane was a Curtiss JN-4 (Jenny), which was popular with stunt flyers at the time. It is not hard to imagine Frank Peabody with his long beard flapping in the wind being ecstatic at the chance of another adventure.  For this was a man who had lost nearly everything on several occasions and yet through nerve, guile and luck was a successful and happy man by most measures.

Author’s note: Little information exists regarding Frank’s wife, Kittie, who survived her husband by 16 years, passing away on Jan. 17, 1946. The only historical reference I was able to locate listed her as a member of the Congregational Church, which was located at the corner of 6th and Dayton.

This article was researched and written by Byron Wilkes. Thanks go to the Edmonds Historical Museum, Ray Cloud for his historical narrative of Frank Peabody’s early life, the Sno-Isle Genealogical Society, the Museum of Flight, and the Edmonds Public Library for their assistance.