Lenox is a town in

Berkshire County, Massachusetts Berkshire County (pronounced ) is the Western Massachusetts, westernmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state, U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 129,026. Its la ...

, United States. The town is 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 univ ...

and part of the

Pittsfield Pittsfield is the most populous 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. Pittsf ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,095 at the 2020 census. Lenox is the site of Shakespeare & Company and

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue and Music festival, festival in the towns of Lenox, Massachusetts, Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony ...

, summer home of the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in ...

. Lenox includes the villages of New Lenox and Lenoxdale, and is a tourist destination during the summer.

History

The area was inhabited by

Mahican The Mohicans ( or ) 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, whose indigenous territory was ...

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 List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, established a small inn and general store. The

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in New England which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of Eng ...

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, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

. After conflicting land claims were resolved, however, it went to Samuel Brown Jr., who had bought the land from the

chief, on condition that he pay 650 pounds extra. It was founded as Richmond in 1765. But because

the Berkshires The Berkshires () are highlands located in western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut in the United States. Generally, "Berkshires" may refer to the range of hills in Massachusetts that lie between the Housatonic and Connecticut River ...

divided the town in two, the village of Yokuntown (named for an

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

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 (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

''Leamhnachd''), but the name was misspelled by a clerk at incorporation. Early industries included

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, 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 ...

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

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 p ...

, 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 manage their s ...

. 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 f ...

led to the digging of

mines Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging *Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun Mi ...

under the town, and the establishment by Job Gilbert in the 1780s of an

iron works An ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. Iron Works may also refer to: * Iron Works, a neighborhood in Brookfield, Connecticut * Clay City, Kentucky, known as Iron ...

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 Art colonies are organic congregations of artists in towns, villages and rural areas, who are often drawn to areas of natural beauty, the prior existence of other artists, art schools there, or a lower cost of living. They are typically mission ...

. In 1821, author Catharine Sedgwick moved here, followed by actress

Fanny Kemble Frances Anne Kemble (later Butler; 27 November 180915 January 1893) was a British actress from a Kemble family, theatre family in the early and mid-nineteenth century. She was a well-known and popular writer and abolitionist whose published wor ...

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (né Hathorne; 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 associat ...

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 American chemist and science education, science educator. He was one of the first American professors of science, the first science professor at Yale University, Yale, and the firs ...

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, a ...

arrived in 1838, tourists discovered the town in increasing numbers. In 1844,

Samuel Gray Ward Samuel Gray Ward (October 3, 1817 – November 17, 1907) was an American poet, author, and minor member of the Transcendentalism movement. He was also a banker and a co-founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Among his circle of contemporarie ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, the American representative for

Barings Bank Barings Bank was a British merchant bank based in London. It was one of England's oldest merchant banks after Berenberg Bank, Barings' close collaborator and German representative. It was founded in 1762 by Francis Baring, a British-born member ...

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 combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

dwelling was designed in 1845 by

Richard Upjohn Richard Upjohn (22 January 1802 – 16 August 1878) was a British-American architect who immigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to popula ...

. In 1876, Ward hired Charles F. McKim to design in the

Shingle Style The shingle style is an American architectural style made popular by the rise of the New England school of architecture, which eschewed the highly ornamented patterns of the Eastlake style in Queen Anne architecture. In the shingle style, Engli ...

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 consisting of 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 (state), New York to the west and by the ...

town was transformed into a

Gilded Age In History of the United States, United States history, the Gilded Age is the period from about the late 1870s to the late 1890s, which occurred between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was named by 1920s historians after Mar ...

resort similar to

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

, 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. The town is home to the College of the Atlantic, Jackson Laboratory, and MDI Biological Laborat ...

. 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 The United States federal government and most state governments impose an income tax. They are determined by applying a tax rate, which may increase as income increases, to taxable income, which is the total income less allowable deductio ...

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 (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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 (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

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 regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

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 ''Bildungsroman'' by American writer John Irving that was later adapted into a 1999 film by Lasse Hallström and a stage play by Peter Parnell. Set in the pre– and post–World War II era, the story tel ...

'' (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 learn ...

. 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, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Lenox is bordered by

to the north,

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

to the east,

Lee Lee may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''L ...

to the southeast, Stockbridge to the southwest, and

to the west. The town center is south of downtown Pittsfield, west-northwest of Springfield, and west of Boston. Lenox is set apart from Richmond to the west by a branch of the

Berkshire Mountains The Berkshires () are highlands located in western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut in the United States. Generally, "Berkshires" may refer to the range of hills in Massachusetts that lie between the Housatonic and Connecticut River ...

, 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 ...

, which flows along that side of town and is impeded by a dam that forms Woods Pond. Contamination with

PCBs Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are organochlorine compounds with the formula C12 H10−''x'' Cl''x''; they were once widely used in the manufacture of carbonless copy paper, as heat transfer fluids, and as dielectric and coolant fluids f ...

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 Massachus ...

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,the Wyndhyrst Resort and Golf Club, and a Miraval Spa. Routes 7 and 20 meet in the southern end of town, heading north along a bypass road towards Pittsfield.

Massachusetts Route 7A Massachusetts Route 7A (MA 7A) is a state highway and alternate to U.S. Route 7 (US 7) in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. It has two posted segments, with a total length of . Between these segments, Route 7A is coextensive with US 7. Both seg ...

, 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 in Massachusetts, U. ...

, which begins near the start of the bypass road. The town center is from Exit 2 of the

Massachusetts Turnpike The Massachusetts Turnpike (colloquially the "Mass Pike" or "the Pike") is a controlled-access toll road that runs concurrently with Interstate 90 (I-90) in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It the longest Interstate Highway in Massachu ...

(

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 states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

), the nearest interstate highway. Along the Housatonic River, the

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 class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals, the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...

trains last made stops at Lenox Railroad Station in 1970. Amtrak rail service on the ''

Lake Shore Limited The ''Lake Shore Limited'' is an Amtrak Long Distance, overnight passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the Northeastern United States, with sections to New York City and Boston. The central segment of the route runs along the s ...

'' can be found in Pittsfield, and the town is served by the

Berkshire Regional Transit Authority Berkshire Regional Transit Authority (BRTA) 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 ...

(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 Albany International Airport is northwest of Albany, in Albany County, New York, United States. It is owned by the Albany County Airport Authority. ALB covers of land. It is an airport of entry in the town of Colonie. It was built on the ...

in New York and

Bradley International Airport Bradley International Airport – historically known as Bradley Field – is a public international airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, Windsor Locks, Connecticut, United States. Owned and operated by the Connecticut Airport Authority, Con ...

in Connecticut.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

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 was ranking 5th in the county and 236th in the Commonwealth. There were 2,713 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.57%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.30% Black or African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.02% Asian, 0.04%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...

, 0.41% from other races, and 0.57% from two or more races. 1.91% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. 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 recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

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 average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

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 ...

. 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

Lenox employs the

open town meeting Town meeting, also known as an "open town meeting", is a form of local government in which eligible town residents can directly participate in an assembly which determines the governance of their town. Unlike representative town meeting where ...

form of government, and is governed by a

board of selectmen The select board or board of selectmen is commonly the Executive (government), executive arm of the government of New England towns in the United States. The board typically consists of three or five members, with or without staggered terms. Three ...

and a

town manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city in the council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are referred to as the chief executive officer (CEO) or chief administ ...

. 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 (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

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 st ...

, 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 law enforcement and vehicle regulation across the state. As of 2024, it has 2,500 sworn troop ...

. On the national level, Lenox is represented in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

as part of

Massachusetts's 1st congressional district Massachusetts's 1st congressional district covers the western portion and the south of the central portion of the state. It is the largest and most sparsely populated district in the state, covering about 30% of the state's land area. The larges ...

, and has been represented by

Richard Neal Richard Edmund Neal (born February 14, 1949) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 1989. The district, numbered as the Massachusetts's 2nd congressional district, 2nd di ...

since January 2013. Massachusetts is represented in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren (née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A mem ...

and

Ed Markey Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, a seat he has held since 2013. A member of ...

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

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, 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 undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

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 college, public Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in North Adams, Massachusetts. It is part of the stat ...

in North Adams, and

Westfield State University Westfield State University (commonly known as Westfield State) is a public university in Westfield, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1839 by Horace Mann as the first public coeducational college in America. History In 1839, Horace Mann founded ...

. 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 college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. It is part of Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudso ...

in Great Barrington.

Sites of interest

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 offe ...

* Church on the Hill *

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 ...

* Kripalu Center * Lenox Railroad Station * The Mount (Edith Wharton estate) * The Museum of the Gilded Age at Ventfort Hall * Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary * Yokun Ridge * Shakespeare & Company *

* Ventfort Hall * Bellefontaine

Notable people

Alice Brock Alice May Brock (February 28, 1941 – November 21, 2024) was an American artist, author and restaurateur. A resident of Massachusetts for her entire adult life, Brock owned and operated three restaurants in the Berkshires—The Back Room, Tak ...

, artist and restaurateur *

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...

, industrialist * Giraud Foster, socialite and industrialist *

David Greetham David Greetham may refer to: * David Greetham (cricketer) * David Greetham (textual scholar) {{hndis, Greetham, David ...

, textual scholar * Frank T. Hassa, Wisconsin State Assemblyman *

, writer *

, actress and writer * George M. Landers, congressman *

Rose Hawthorne Lathrop Rose Hawthorne Lathrop, OP, also known as Mother Mary Alphonsa (May 20, 1851 – July 9, 1926), was an American Dominican religious sister, writer, social worker, and foundress of the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne. Early life and education Ro ...

, social worker *

Stefan Lorant Stefan Lorant (; February 22, 1901, in Budapest, Austria-Hungary – November 14, 1997, in Rochester, Minnesota) was a pioneering Hungarian-American filmmaker, photojournalist, and author. Early work He was born on February 22, 1901, in Budapest ...

, author, editor, photographer; "father of photojouralism" *

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 (art), New York School. Early life and education Bernadette Mayer was born ...

, poet * George Morell, jurist *

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 politi ...

, Congregational minister * John Paterson, general and congressman * Gilmore Schjeldahl, American businessman and inventor * Catharine Maria Sedgwick, Catharine Sedgwick, writer * William L. Shirer, journalist and historian * Maureen Stapleton, actress * Anson Phelps Stokes, financier * James Taylor, singer-songwriter and guitarist * George Westinghouse, industrialist * Edith Wharton, writer * Robert Shaw Sturgis Whitman, Episcopal clergyman * James Van Der Zee, photographer * Grenville Lindall Winthrop, art collector and philanthropist * Jennie Louise Touissant Welcome, artist, photographer, and filmmaker * Finn Wittrock, actor

References

A History of Lenox, Massachusetts

History of Lenox, Massachusetts

External links

* *
Town of Lenox official website

Lenox Library

Lenox Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Lenox, Massachusetts, Towns in Berkshire County, Massachusetts Towns in Massachusetts