Trinity Episcopal Church (Lenox, Massachusetts)
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Trinity Episcopal Church is an historic Episcopal church building at 88 Walker Street in
Lenox, Massachusetts Lenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is in Western Massachusetts and part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Pittsfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,095 at the 2020 United States census ...
. Built in 1888 for a congregation organized in 1793, it is a prominent local example of Romanesque architecture, funded by
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 ...
summer congregants. The church was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1996.


History

The first known Episcopalian church services to take place in Lenox were in 1763; it was not until 1793 that a congregation was organized. Its first building, similar to a typical
colonial meeting house A colonial meeting house was a meeting house used by communities in colonial New England. Built using tax money, the colonial meeting house was the focal point of the community where the town's residents could discuss local issues, conduct reli ...
, was built in 1818, and survives in somewhat altered form as a commercial building on Church Street. The congregation remained small until after the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, when wealthy residents of large cities began summering in Lenox. The church was enlarged in 1873, but by 1882 it was again judged too small. Robert Auchmuty, a congregant who had apprenticed with architect
James Renwick Jr. James Renwick Jr. (November 11, 1818 – June 23, 1895) was an American architect known for designing churches and museums. He designed the Smithsonian Institution Building in Washington, D.C., and St. Patrick's Cathedral (Manhattan), St. Patric ...
, headed the committee that oversaw design and construction of the replacement. Auchmuty worked with
Charles Follen 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 par ...
of
McKim, Mead & White McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm based in New York City. The firm came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in ''fin de siècle'' New York. The firm's founding partners, Cha ...
to develop plans for the church, and supervised its construction. It was built in 1888 in the Gothic Revival style for the use of a congregation composed in part of the wealthy summer visitors to
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 ...
, who funded its construction. The church was the location of society weddings. For example, on June 6, 1895,
James A. Burden Jr. James Abercrombie Burden Jr. (January 16, 1871 – June 1, 1932) was an American industrialist from New York (state), New York. Early life James Abercrombie Burden Jr. was born on January 16, 1871, in Manhattan New York. His parents were James A ...
, an heir to the
Burden Iron Works The Burden Iron Works was an iron works and industrial complex on the Hudson River and Wynantskill Creek in Troy, New York. It once housed the Burden Water Wheel, the most powerful vertical water wheel in history. It is widely believed that George ...
, wed Florence Adele Sloan, a direct descendant of
Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...
, in this church.


Notable people

* Robert Shaw Sturgis Whitman, rector


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Berkshire County, Massachusetts __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Berkshire ...


References


External links


Trinity Episcopal Church
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Episcopal church buildings in Massachusetts Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts McKim, Mead & White church buildings Churches in Berkshire County, Massachusetts Buildings and structures in Lenox, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Berkshire County, Massachusetts Religious organizations established in 1793 1793 establishments in Massachusetts Churches completed in 1888 1888 establishments in Massachusetts Romanesque Revival church buildings in Massachusetts Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Massachusetts