You will not find a statue of George Foster Peabody in Lake George. There are no parks or buildings bearing his name. The financier-turned-philanthropist did not seek personal glory; rather, working behind the scenes, he poured his energy, used his influence, and dedicated much of his fortune to public service.
Peabody biographer Glenn Underwood presented “George Foster Peabody and Lake George” at a Lake George Historical Association event Sunday Afternoon, part of the Association’s 2026 History Talks lecture series held at the museum in the Old County Courthouse on Canada Street.
Underwood told the story of an altruist who believed that the fortune he had made required him to give to others. “He’s a very religious person,” said Underwood, “and he believed in different aspects, different verses, and one of them is, essentially, ‘The chiefest among you should be the one who gives all,’” a verse from the Gospel of Mark.
“This is not a guy that grew up with a silver spoon,” Underwood said. Peabody was born in Columbus, Georgia, in the antebellum South. His father was a successful merchant; however, his business was destroyed by the Civil War, leaving the family impoverished. With no prospects in Georgia, they moved to Brooklyn, New York.
Peabody had very little formal education. He was homeschooled and attended a private boys’ school for only a few months. He never went to college but was self-educated. He was a voracious reader, infinitely curious, and he read everything he could at the Brooklyn YMCA library.
As a young man, he formed a strong friendship with Spencer Trask and accepted a position at Trask’s Wall Street investment house, which was shortly afterwards restructured as Trask & Company with Peabody as an equal partner.
Underwood says George Foster Peabody amassed his fortune not by making shady deals or manipulating stocks, but by investing in the future. Trask and Peabody were investors in Thomas Edison’s early light bulb experiments. They invested in railroads, mining operations, and American beet sugar.
Peabody never ran for political office but was involved in politics as a lifelong Democrat and one-time treasurer of the Democratic National Committee. With his close friend Edward Morse Shepard, he organized the Young Men’s Democratic Club of Brooklyn. He formed friendships with prominent political leaders, including Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Underwood credits E.M. Shepard with introducing Peabody to Lake George. George Foster Peabody regularly vacationed in Saratoga Springs at Yaddo, Spencer and Katrina Trask’s summer home. Shepard’s purchase of property on Lake George and building of his home, Erlowest, there encouraged Peabody to look for his own spot by the lake where his friends summered.
He found his place directly across the road from Shepard, a mansion with extensive grounds known as Price Manor. Peabody had the mansion renovated and renamed it Abenia.
As a Lake George resident, George Foster Peabody worked to ensure the public would have access to Lake George and beautiful places around the lake. His efforts have kept Prospect Mountain, Hearthstone Campground, and Diamond Island open to the public. He contributed to the founding of Wiawaka, a holiday house for working women.
His influence drove the Caldwell-Lake George Library funding effort, and he lobbied for funding to enclose the Battle of Lake George monument in Battlefield Park with appropriate fencing to replace the original wire fence. Underwood, based on correspondences he read in his research, suspects Peabody made large donations to various projects, but did not seek recognition.
“He didn’t want his name on [projects], it’s not the George Foster Peabody this, the George Foster Peabody that. That’s not his MO, that’s not what he was about. It was the subtle gift, it was giving behind it all,” says Underwood.
In 1911, his best friend Edward Morse Shepard died. Shepard had often talked about acquiring the Lake House lakefront property on Canada Street to be used as a public park. Peabody and Shepard’s other friends believed making this happen would be a fitting memorial to their dear friend. They initiated a fundraising drive, and Shepard Park became a reality and remains today a hub of activity in the Village of Lake George.
Underwood began research on his book, “Discovering George Foster Peabody,” ten years ago, a journey that took him to the New York Public Library, where Peabody’s papers are archived in the Yaddo Records. His work is a hefty volume, but an easy read with clear and organized writing that details the subject’s life and work in both Lake George and Saratoga. The volume is filled with unpublished photos of Peabody, his friends, his family, his homes and projects he dedicated himself to.
The one monument to George Foster Peabody in Lake George is a 42-acre public preserve at French Point on Tongue Mountain. The memorial was established by his friends after his death and is marked with a small plaque.
The plaque is difficult to find, says Underwood. It is only accessible by boat, and trees have grown up around it. “Is this enough? Should there be something more for the guy?” Underwood asks. “The more that I thought about it, the more I kind of realized, well, anybody can say that. Where’s the effort? So, my effort starts with this,” Underwood says, holding up a copy of his book. “It’s not a monument, but it’s a testament.”
And, he adds, “We have the monuments, it’s just not statues. We have Shepard Park, we have Prospect Mountain, still, we have these things that are still there from him. And I think that’s really important. The question is, do you need a statue to know?… because these public places are still here, that’s a testament in itself. That is the monument.”
Following his presentation, Underwood unveiled a portrait of Peabody that had been in the museum’s collection but had not been displayed. The portrait hangs on a wall along the staircase next to a portrait of Edward Morse Shepard. Both portraits are by a window overlooking Shepard Park.
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