The Foxhollow School was a private

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

for girls. Founded by Aileen M. Farrell in 1930 on the Foxhollow Farm in Rhinebeck, New York. The school was moved to the

Lenox, Massachusetts Lenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The town is based in Western Massachusetts and part of the Pittsfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,095 at the 2020 census. Lenox is the site of Shakespeare & Company and T ...

former estate of the

Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Sr. (October 20, 1877 – May 7, 1915) was a wealthy American businessman, and a member of the Vanderbilt family. A sportsman, he participated in and pioneered a number of related endeavors. He died in the sinking of ...

family. The school expanded to the neighboring property, The Mount. Miss Farrell was a British citizen and

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

graduate, who never sought American citizenship. She led the school for forty years until 1970. The school closed in 1976 and the property became an inn. In 2017, it was announced the building would be converted to luxury apartments. Foxhollow School was one of several private secondary schools in the vicinity that occupied the properties of

Gilded Age In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Weste ...

estates to close in the 1970s. These schools included Stockbridge School,

Windsor Mountain School The Windsor Mountain School was a private, co-ed boarding school for grades 9 through 12 located in Lenox, Massachusetts. History The school was established in Lenox in 1944 by German Jewish educational reformer Max Bondy and his wife Gertrud ...

Lenox School for Boys Lenox School was a private preparatory school for boys in grades nine through twelve in Lenox, Massachusetts. The school was affiliated with the Episcopal Church (United States). School history The school opened in 1926 under the leadership of R ...

and Cranwell Preparatory School. The costs of maintaining these grand

Berkshire Cottages America's Gilded Age, the post-Civil War and post-Reconstruction era, from 1865 to 1901 saw unprecedented economic and industrial prosperity. As a result of this prosperity, the nation's wealthiest families were able to construct monumental country ...

and their sprawling grounds was one of the contributing causes of their closures.

Notable alumni

* Joan W. Patten

References

1930 establishments in New York (state) 1976 establishments in Massachusetts Boarding schools in Massachusetts Boarding schools in New York (state) Buildings and structures in Lenox, Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Rhinebeck, New York Defunct boarding schools Defunct girls' schools in the United States Defunct private schools in the United States Defunct high schools in the United States Educational institutions established in 1930 Educational institutions disestablished in 1976 Girls boarding schools Girls' schools in Massachusetts Preparatory schools in New York (state) Private boarding schools in the United States Private high schools in Dutchess County, New York Private high schools in Massachusetts Private preparatory schools in Massachusetts High schools in Berkshire County, Massachusetts {{Massachusetts-school-stub