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Lenox Historical Commission
Lenox Historical Society
Springlawn (1905) is a beautiful gilded age cottage. It replaced the 19th century home of the Lenox Sedgewicks – called the Hive. It is an important historic building on an important historic site. Unfortunately, the owners are letting it deteriorate dangerously.
The beautiful hills and valleys we appreciate today were carved out by glaciers. Both the natural obstacles they created and border controversy with the colony of New York made the Berkshires slower to be settled than the neighboring Connecticut River Valley. Starting with Sheffield settlement of Berkshire County began in earnest when the French and Indian War ended in xxxx. Initially part of xxxx which included modern day Richmond, Lenox was established in 1767
A Revolutionary War “Greatest Generation” settled Lenox. Revolutionary war heroes such as Major General John Paterson, arrived in what was essentially a wilderness (often from more settled parts of Connecticut), established a functioning town, and went off to fight in the Revolutionary War. They then went on to establish Lenox as the county seat and an early center of education (such as the Lenox Academy shown here) and culture.
Being the site of Berkshire County judicial proceedings attracted learned residents and tourists. Even before the Civil War, wealthy city dwellers started to build summer homes in Lenox — eased by the advent of rail service in the 1850’s.
The Gilded Age (roughly from the end of the Civil War to 1914) was a great time to be a capitalist! Enormous fortunes were made in steel, coal, rail…and industries of all sorts. These millionaires needed places to play and socialize together and Lenox was one of them. The large, beautiful houses they built were somewhat humorously called “cottages” and xx of them are still standing in Lenox. Local farmers were only too happy to sell their land to the wealthy from New York and Boston and enterprising local merchants were happy to provide for these visitors. The many workers who went to build and work on these estates often became permanent residents and many of their descendants live in Lenox today.
So as the twentieth century got rolling, the cottage scene faded —income taxes, difficulty getting help as people had better options for employment, and fashion….it was no longer a “can you top this” show of wealth. A difficult adjustment for Lenox as was the Great Depression, but fortunately the town and its residents evolved. By mid-century Tanglewood and the Music Inn made Lenox attractive for cultural tourists, private schools took up residency in the “cottages,” and workers and executives at the nearby General Electric factory chose to make homes in Lenox. Now the private schools are gone as is General Electric but Lenox remains attractive to tourists and residents alike with ever increasing cultural opportunities and a new industry – health spas.
