Lenox is a town in
Berkshire County,
. The town is based in
Western Massachusetts
Western Massachusetts, known colloquially as “Western Mass,” is a region in Massachusetts, one of the six U.S. states that make up the New England region of the United States. Western Massachusetts has diverse topography; 22 colleges and u ...
and part of the
Pittsfield
Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield ...
Metropolitan Statistical Area
In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...
. The population was 5,095 at the 2020 census.
Lenox is the site of
Shakespeare & Company and
Tanglewood
Tanglewood is a music venue in the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. Tanglewood is also home to three music schools: the T ...
, summer home of the
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, ...
. Lenox includes the villages of New Lenox and
Lenoxdale, and is a tourist destination during the summer.
History
![1839 Print of Lenox, MA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/1839_Print_of_Lenox%2C_MA.jpg)
The area was inhabited by
Mahican
The Mohican ( or , alternate spelling: Mahican) are an Eastern Algonquian Native American tribe that historically spoke an Algonquian language. As part of the Eastern Algonquian family of tribes, they are related to the neighboring Lenape, who ...
s,
Algonquian speakers who largely lived along the Hudson and Housatonic Rivers.
Hostilities during the
French and Indian Wars
The French and Indian Wars were a series of conflicts that occurred in North America between 1688 and 1763, some of which indirectly were related to the European dynastic wars. The title ''French and Indian War'' in the singular is used in the U ...
discouraged settlement by European colonial settlers until 1750, when Jonathan and Sarah Hinsdale from
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
, established a small inn and general store. The
Province of Massachusetts Bay
The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the Thirteen Colonies, thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III of England, William III and Mary II ...
thereupon auctioned large tracts of land for 10 townships in Berkshire County, set off in 1761 from
Hampshire County.
For 2,250 pounds Josiah Dean purchased Lot Number 8, which included present-day Lenox and
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
. After conflicting land claims were resolved, however, it went to Samuel Brown, Jr., who had bought the land from the
Mahican
The Mohican ( or , alternate spelling: Mahican) are an Eastern Algonquian Native American tribe that historically spoke an Algonquian language. As part of the Eastern Algonquian family of tribes, they are related to the neighboring Lenape, who ...
chief, on condition that he pay 650 pounds extra. It was founded as Richmond in 1765. But because
the Berkshires
The Berkshires () are a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. The term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to the portion of the Vermont-based Green Mountains that ex ...
divided the town in two, the village of Yokuntown (named for an
indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
chief) was set off as Lenox in 1767. The town was intended to be called
Lennox, probably after
Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond and Lennox
Field Marshal Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond, 3rd Duke of Lennox, 3rd Duke of Aubigny, (22 February 1735 – 29 December 1806), styled Earl of March until 1750, of Goodwood House in Sussex and of Richmond House in London, was a Briti ...
(
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...
''Leamhnachd''), but the name was misspelled by a clerk at incorporation.
Early industries included
farming
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
,
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
s,
textile
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
mills,
potash
Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. production,
glassworks
Glass production involves two main methods – the float glass process that produces sheet glass, and glassblowing that produces bottles and other containers. It has been done in a variety of ways during the history of glass.
Glass container ...
, and
quarrying
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their environ ...
. A vein of
iron ore
Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...
led to the digging of
mines under the town, and the establishment by Job Gilbert in the 1780s of an
iron works
An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ''ironworks'' is ''ironworks''.
Ironworks succeeded bloomeri ...
at Lenox Dale, also known as Lenox Furnace. In 1784, Lenox became the county seat, which it remained until 1868 when the title passed to Pittsfield. The county courthouse built in 1816 is today the Lenox Library.
The region's rustic beauty helped Lenox develop into an
art colony
An art colony, also known as an artists' colony, can be defined two ways. Its most liberal description refers to the organic congregation of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, often drawn by areas of natural beauty, the prior existence o ...
. In 1821, author
Catharine Sedgwick
Catharine Maria Sedgwick (December 28, 1789 – July 31, 1867) was an American novelist of what is sometimes referred to as " domestic fiction". With her work much in demand, from the 1820s to the 1850s, Sedgwick made a good living writing short ...
moved here, followed by actress
Fanny Kemble
Frances Anne "Fanny" Kemble (27 November 180915 January 1893) was a British actress from a theatre family in the early and mid-19th century. She was a well-known and popular writer and abolitionist, whose published works included plays, poetry ...
.
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion.
He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...
and his family came from
Salem in 1850, staying a year and a half. Other visitors to the area, including
Timothy Dwight,
Benjamin Silliman
Benjamin Silliman (August 8, 1779 – November 24, 1864) was an early American chemist and science educator. He was one of the first American professors of science, at Yale College, the first person to use the process of fractional distillation ...
and
Henry Ward Beecher
Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the Abolitionism, abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery ...
, extolled its advantages. After an extension of the
Housatonic Railroad
The Housatonic Railroad ( ) is a Class III railroad operating in southwestern New England and eastern New York. It was chartered in 1983 to operate a short section of ex-New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in northwestern Connecticut, and ...
arrived in 1838, tourists discovered the town in increasing numbers.
In 1844,
Samuel Gray Ward of
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, the American representative for
Barings Bank
Barings Bank was a British merchant bank based in London, and one of England's List of oldest banks in continuous operation, oldest merchant banks after Berenberg Bank, Barings' close collaborator and German representative. It was founded in 1762 ...
of London, assembled tracts of land to create the first estate in Lenox. Called ''Highwood'', the
Italianate
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...
dwelling was designed in 1845 by
Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn (22 January 1802 – 16 August 1878) was a British-born American architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to su ...
. In 1876, Ward hired
Charles F. McKim
Charles Follen McKim (August 24, 1847 – September 14, 1909) was an American Beaux-Arts architect of the late 19th century. Along with William Rutherford Mead and Stanford White, he provided the architectural expertise as a member of the partn ...
to design in the
Shingle Style another property, ''Oakwood''. The period from 1880 until 1920 would be dubbed the Berkshire Cottage era, when the small
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
town was transformed into a
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 ...
resort similar to
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
, and
Bar Harbor, Maine
Bar Harbor is a resort town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population is 5,089. During the summer and fall seasons, it is a popular tourist destination and, until a catastrophic fire i ...
. The wealthy and their entourage opened immense houses for recreation and entertaining during the Berkshire Season, which lasted from late summer until early fall. One event was the annual Tub Parade, when Main Street was lined with ornately decorated carriages. Property values jumped as millionaires competed for land on which to build showplaces. In 1903, an acre in Lenox cost $20,000, when an acre in nearby towns cost a few dollars.
The imposition of the
federal income tax
Income taxes in the United States are imposed by the federal government, and most states. The income taxes are determined by applying a tax rate, which may increase as income increases, to taxable income, which is the total income less allow ...
in 1913 ended construction of the country mansions in the Berkshires. The estates started to break up during the 1920s. Carnegie's widow sold Shadowbrook to the
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
for a seminary in 1922. The
Depression made it harder to maintain the estates, and labor was scarce during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. After the war, some of the estates were torn or burned down. Others became schools or seminaries. Some estates became
preparatory schools, although they would close by the 1970s and 1980s.
The Shadowbrook property is now the Kripalu
yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
center; another,
The Mount, is the former home of
Shakespeare & Company. Some have been converted into vacation
condominium
A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...
s. Tanglewood, the former estate of the Tappan family which lies partially in Stockbridge, would in 1937 become summer home to the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Lenox remains a popular tourist destination. It was a filming location for ''
Before and After'' (1996) and ''
The Cider House Rules
''The Cider House Rules'' (1985) is a novel by American writer John Irving, a ''Bildungsroman'' that was later adapted into a 1999 film and a stage play by Peter Parnell. The story, set in the pre– and post–World War II era, tells of a youn ...
'' (1999), which was shot at
Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum
Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum is a historic, Jacobean-style mansion and museum located at 104 Walker Street, Lenox, Massachusetts. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Visitors can tour the mansion and lear ...
.
Image:Lenox Library, Lenox, MA.jpg, Lenox Library
Image:Bellefontaine, Lenox, MA.jpg, ''Bellefontaine'' in 1912
Image:Curtis Hotel, Lenox, MA.jpg, Curtis Hotel
Image:Shadowbrook, Lenox, MA.jpg, ''Shadowbrook'' in 1908
Image:Lenox High School, Lenox MA.jpg, Lenox High School, 1908 building
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Lenox is bordered by
Pittsfield
Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield ...
to the north,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
to the east,
Lee to the southeast,
Stockbridge to the southwest, and
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
to the west. The town center is south of downtown Pittsfield, west-northwest of
Springfield
Springfield may refer to:
* Springfield (toponym), the place name in general
Places and locations Australia
* Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast)
* Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council)
* Springfield, Queenslan ...
, and west of Boston.
Lenox is set apart from Richmond to the west by a branch of the
Berkshire Mountains
The Berkshires () are a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. The term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to the portion of the Vermont-based Green Mountains that ex ...
, with the highest peak in the ridge being Yokun Seat at . To the east, October Mountain rises above the
Housatonic River
The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United S ...
, which flows along that side of town and is impeded by a dam that forms Woods Pond. Contamination with
PCBs
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are highly carcinogenic chemical compounds, formerly used in industrial and consumer products, whose production was banned in the United States by the Toxic Substances Control Act in 1979 and internationally by t ...
is highest in the section of the River from Pittsfield to Woods Pond.
Parts of the Housatonic Valley Wildlife Management Area and
October Mountain State Forest
October Mountain State Forest is a forest and recreational preserve located primarily in the town of Washington with adjoining parcels in Becket, Lee, and Lenox. It is the largest state forest in Massachusetts and is managed by the Massachuset ...
line the river's east banks there. Several marshy brooks also feed into the river throughout town. The town is also home to the Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary south of
Yokun Seat, and the Cranwell Resort and Golf Club.
U.S. Routes 7 and
20 meet in the southern end of town, heading north along a bypass road towards Pittsfield.
Massachusetts Route 7A, the original path of Route 7, passes through the center of town, with a short distance combined with
Massachusetts Route 183
Massachusetts Route 183 (MA 183) is a north–south state highway in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The entire route travels from a continuation of Connecticut Route 183 by Colebrook, Connecticut to U.S. Route 7 (US 7) and US 20 in Le ...
, which begins near the start of the bypass road. The town center is from Exit 2 of the
Massachusetts Turnpike
The Massachusetts Turnpike (colloquially "Mass Pike" or "the Pike") is a toll highway in the US state of Massachusetts that is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). The turnpike begins at the New York state li ...
(
Interstate 90
Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...
), the nearest interstate highway.
Along the Housatonic River, the
Housatonic Railroad
The Housatonic Railroad ( ) is a Class III railroad operating in southwestern New England and eastern New York. It was chartered in 1983 to operate a short section of ex-New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in northwestern Connecticut, and ...
route between Pittsfield and
Great Barrington passes from north to south.
Penn Central
The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Railroad classes, class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania Railroad ...
trains last made stops at
Lenox Railroad Station in 1970. Amtrak rail service on the ''
Lake Shore Limited
The ''Lake Shore Limited'' is an overnight Amtrak intercity rail, intercity passenger train that runs between Chicago and either New York City or Boston via two Section (rail transport), sections east of Albany, New York, Albany. The train bega ...
'' can be found in Pittsfield, and the town is served by the
Berkshire Regional Transit Authority
Berkshire Regional Transit Authority is a bus transportation system serving the City of Pittsfield and Greater Berkshire County, Massachusetts. It provides year-round bus service with connections to Amtrak at the Joseph Scelsi Intermodal Transp ...
(BRTA), with regional bus service through Pittsfield. Pittsfield is also the site of the nearest regional airport, the
Pittsfield Municipal Airport. The town is roughly equidistantly located between the two nearest airports with national flights,
Albany International Airport in New York and
Bradley International Airport
Bradley International Airport is a public international airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, United States. Owned and operated by the Connecticut Airport Authority, it is the second-largest airport in New England.
The airport is about halfw ...
in Connecticut.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 5,077 people, 2,212 households, and 1,291 families residing in the town. Lenox ranks eighth out of the 32 cities and towns in Berkshire county by population, and 244th out of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 239.3 people per square mile (92.4/km
2) ranking 5th in the county and 236th in the Commonwealth. There were 2,713 housing units at an average density of 127.9 per square mile (49.4/km
2). The racial makeup of the town was 98.57%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, .30%
Black or African American, 0.08%
Native American, .02%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.04%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 0.41% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 0.57% from two or more races. 1.91% of the population were
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race.
![Hotel Aspinwall, Lenox, MA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Hotel_Aspinwall%2C_Lenox%2C_MA.jpg)
There were 2,212 households, out of which 22.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.6% were non-families. 36.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.84.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 20.8% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 22.8% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 24.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $85,581, and the median income for a family was $111,413. Males had a median income of $61,226 versus $55,063 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the town was $53,263. 4.9% of the population and 3.6% of families were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
. Out of the total population, 7.3% of those under the age of 18 and 5.8% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Government
![Belvoir Terrace, Lenox, MA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Belvoir_Terrace%2C_Lenox%2C_MA.jpg)
Lenox employs the
open town meeting
Town meeting is a form of local government in which most or all of the members of a community are eligible to legislate policy and budgets for local government. It is a town- or city-level meeting in which decisions are made, in contrast with ...
form of government, and is governed by a
board of selectmen and a
town manager
A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief exec ...
. The town has its own full-time police, fire, ambulance, and public works departments. The Lenox Library, founded in 1856, has occupied the former county courthouse since 1874. It is a member of the regional library network. The nearest hospital, Berkshire Medical Center, is located in Pittsfield.
On the state level, Lenox is represented in the
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...
by the Fourth Berkshire district, which covers southern Berkshire County, as well as the westernmost towns in Hampden County. In the
Massachusetts Senate
The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the ...
, the town is represented by the Berkshire, Hampshire and Franklin district, which includes all of Berkshire County and western Hampshire and Franklin Counties. The town is patrolled by the First (Lee) Station of Barracks "B" of the
Massachusetts State Police
The Massachusetts State Police (MSP) is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, responsible for criminal law enforcement and traffic vehicle regulation across the state. As of 10/4/2022, it ...
.
On the national level, Lenox is represented in the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
as part of
Massachusetts's 1st congressional district
Massachusetts's 1st congressional district is a United States congressional district located in the western and central part of Massachusetts. The state's largest congressional district in area, it covers about one-third of the state and is more ...
, and has been represented by
Richard Neal
Richard Edmund Neal (born February 14, 1949) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 1989. The district, numbered as the 2nd district from 1989 to 2013, includes Springfield, West Springfield, Pittsfield, H ...
since January 2013. Massachusetts is represented in the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
by
Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...
and
Ed Markey
Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American lawyer, politician, and former Army reservist who has served as the junior United States senator from Massachusetts since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representati ...
.
Education
Lenox operates its own school system for the town's 800 students. It is the only town in the county whose schools do not have a formal tuition agreement with any other town (other students may attend, however). Morris Elementary School houses students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, and Lenox Memorial Middle and High School houses students through twelfth grade. In 1966
Lenox Memorial High School moved from its
1908 building to a new campus co-located with the town's middle school.
The school's athletic teams are called the "Millionaires", in acknowledgement of the town's history, and their colors are maroon and gold. The school's longtime rivals are the
Lee Wildcats. Additionally, Lenox is home to two special education schools (Valleycrest School and the Hillcrest Center), as well as private schools, Berkshire Christian, which serves students from pre-kindergarten through grade 8,
Berkshire Country Day School
Berkshire Country Day (BCD) is an independent school for pre-schoolers through eighth grade. It is located at 55 Interlaken Road/Route 183 in Berkshire County, Massachusetts near the town of Lenox.
History
BCD was founded in 1946 by a group ...
, which serves students from pre-kindergarten through ninth grade, and The Montessori School of the Berkshires, which serves toddlers through middle school students.
The nearest
community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...
is
Berkshire Community College
Berkshire Community College is a public community college in Berkshire County, Massachusetts with its primary campus in Pittsfield. It also has a satellite campus in Great Barrington and classroom spaces in the city of Pittsfield. Established i ...
in Pittsfield. The nearest state colleges are
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) formerly known as North Adams State College (NASC) is a public liberal arts college in North Adams, Massachusetts. It is part of the state university system of Massachusetts. It is a member of the ...
in North Adams, and
Westfield State University
Westfield State University (Westfield State) is a public university in Westfield, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1839 by Horace Mann as the first public co-educational college in America without barrier to race, gender, or economic class.
Ran ...
. The nearest private college is
Bard College at Simon's Rock
Bard College at Simon's Rock (more commonly known as Simon's Rock) is a private residential liberal arts college in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. It is a unit of Bard College, which is located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.
The school ...
in Great Barrington.
Sites of interest
![Yokun Avenue, Lenox, MA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Yokun_Avenue%2C_Lenox%2C_MA.jpg)
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Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum
The Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum is a railroad museum located in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, that offers historical exhibits. The museum was founded in 1984 as a not-for-profit organization. During the 1980s and 2003-2011 it offered ...
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Church on the Hill
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Frelinghuysen Morris House and Studio
The Frelinghuysen Morris House and Studio is a historic house museum and former art studio in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The house and studio were home to American Abstract Artists George L.K. Morris and Suzy Frelinghuysen. The stu ...
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Kripalu Center
The Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health is a nonprofit organization that operates a health and yoga retreat in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Its facility is a former Jesuit novitiate and juniorate seminary built in 1957.
History
Founder Amrit Desa ...
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Lenox Railroad Station
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The Mount (Edith Wharton estate)
* The Museum of the Gilded Age at Ventfort Hall
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Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary
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Yokun Ridge
Yokun Ridge is a ridge in the Taconic Mountains in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, consisting of a well-defined series of contiguous peaks including West Stockbridge Mountain and Lenox Mountain. The name "Yokun Ridge" was invented for the area in ...
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Shakespeare & Company
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Tanglewood
Tanglewood is a music venue in the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. Tanglewood is also home to three music schools: the T ...
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Ventfort Hall
Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum is a historic, Jacobean-style mansion and museum located at 104 Walker Street, Lenox, Massachusetts. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Visitors can tour the mansion and lear ...
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Bellefontaine
Notable people
![Congregational Church, Lenox, MA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Congregational_Church%2C_Lenox%2C_MA.jpg)
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Alice Brock
Alice May Brock (born February 28, 1941) is an American artist, occasional author and former restaurateur. A resident of Massachusetts for her entire adult life, Brock owned and operated three restaurants in the Berkshires—The Back Room, Take-Ou ...
, artist and restaurateur
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Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...
, industrialist
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Giraud Foster
Giraud Foster (8 November 1850 – 22 September 1945) was a businessman and socialite notable during America's gilded age. An avid bridge player, equestrian and sailor, Foster accumulated a large fortune from coal and shipping. Like his wife t ...
, socialite and industrialist
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David Greetham, textual scholar
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Frank T. Hassa
Frank T. Hassa was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.
Biography
Hassa was born on June 6, 1873, in Lenox, Massachusetts. He moved to Wisconsin in 1879, settling in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was educated at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church ( ...
, Wisconsin State Assemblyman
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Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion.
He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...
, writer
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Fanny Kemble
Frances Anne "Fanny" Kemble (27 November 180915 January 1893) was a British actress from a theatre family in the early and mid-19th century. She was a well-known and popular writer and abolitionist, whose published works included plays, poetry ...
, actress and writer
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George M. Landers, congressman
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Rose Hawthorne Lathrop
Rose Hawthorne Lathrop, also known as Mother Mary Alphonsa, (May 20, 1851 – July 9, 1926) was an American writer and religious leader. She was a Catholic religious sister, social worker, and foundress of the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne.
...
, social worker
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Bernadette Mayer
Bernadette Mayer (May 12, 1945 – November 22, 2022) was an American poet, writer, and visual artist associated with both the Language poets and the New York School.
Early life and education
Bernadette Mayer was born in a predominantly Ge ...
, poet
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George Morell, jurist
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Charles Henry Parkhurst
Charles Henry Parkhurst (April 17, 1842 – September 8, 1933) was an American clergyman and social reformer, born in Framingham, Massachusetts. Although scholarly and reserved, he preached two sermons in 1892 in which he attacked the polit ...
, Congregational minister
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John Paterson, general and congressman
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Gilmore Schjeldahl
Gilmore Tilmen Schjeldahl (June 1, 1912March 10, 2002) was an American businessman and inventor in plastics, adhesives and circuitry. He was awarded 16 US patents and may be best known for inventing the plastic-lined airsickness bag.
Biography
E ...
, American businessman and inventor
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Catharine Sedgwick
Catharine Maria Sedgwick (December 28, 1789 – July 31, 1867) was an American novelist of what is sometimes referred to as " domestic fiction". With her work much in demand, from the 1820s to the 1850s, Sedgwick made a good living writing short ...
, writer
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William L. Shirer
William Lawrence Shirer (; February 23, 1904 – December 28, 1993) was an American journalist and war correspondent. He wrote ''The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich'', a history of Nazi Germany that has been read by many and cited in scholarly w ...
, journalist and historian
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Maureen Stapleton
Lois Maureen Stapleton (June 21, 1925 – March 13, 2006) was an American actress. She received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, in addition to ...
, actress
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Anson Phelps Stokes
Anson Phelps Stokes (February 22, 1838 – June 28, 1913) was a wealthy American merchant, property developer, banker, genealogist and philanthropist. Born in New York City, he was the son of James Boulter and Caroline Stokes. His paternal gran ...
, financier
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James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...
, singer-songwriter and guitarist
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George Westinghouse
George Westinghouse Jr. (October 6, 1846 – March 12, 1914) was an American entrepreneur and engineer based in Pennsylvania who created the railway air brake and was a pioneer of the electrical industry, receiving his first patent at the age of ...
, industrialist
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Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton (; born Edith Newbold Jones; January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American novelist, short story writer, and interior designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray ...
, writer
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Robert Shaw Sturgis Whitman, Episcopal clergyman
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James Van Der Zee
James Augustus Van Der Zee (June 29, 1886 – May 15, 1983) was an American photographer best known for his portraits of black New Yorkers. He was a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Aside from the artistic merits of his work, Van Der Ze ...
, photographer
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Grenville Lindall Winthrop, art collector and philanthropist
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Jennie Louise Touissant Welcome
Jennie Louise Touissant Welcome (January 10, 1885 – July 22, 1956), born Jennie Louise Van Der Zee and also known as Madame E. Toussaint Welcome, was an African American visual artist who made influential photographs and films with her husband. ...
, artist, photographer, and filmmaker
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Finn Wittrock
Peter L. Wittrock Jr. (born October 28, 1984), known as Finn Wittrock, is an US actor and screenwriter who began his career in guest roles on several television shows. He made his film debut in 2004, in ''Halloweentown High'' before returning to f ...
, actor
See also
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Lenox School of Jazz
References
A History of Lenox, MassachusettsHistory of Lenox, Massachusetts
External links
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Town of Lenox official websiteLenox LibraryLenox Chamber of CommerceLenox Caroling Festival
{{authority control
Towns in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Towns in Massachusetts