Life for Early Lenox Settlers We have not yet found first person accounts of what greeted the early settlers (say 1750’s) but we can make some educated guesses based on…
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On May 9, 2015, Cornelia (Nini) Gilder, co author of Houses of the Berkshires*, gave a great talk at Ventfort Hall about Margaret Emerson McKim Vanderbilt Baker Amory (1884-1960). Local Connections…
Frequently known as the French and Indian War, this was actually the fourth in a series of conflicts, stretching over 85 years*. Unlike the three earlier conflicts between the English and…
Bellefontaine Talk by Richard Jackson at Ventfort Hall Bellefontaine was built in 1896-1898 for Giraud and Jean Foster. Giraud Foster (born in 1851) lived at Bellefontaine until his death in…
The Lenox Easter Fire The Easter Fire on Lenox Main Street on April 11, 1909 changed the face of Lenox Main Street and cost six people their lives. The area…
Settlement of the Berkshires – Poontoosuck Of the five Berkshire towns whose settlement have are briefly covered in these blogs(Sheffield, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, Poontoosuck* and Lenox), Poontoosuck (Pittsfield) suffered the…
As we approach the annual town meeting it’s interesting to see what constituted important Lenox town business in the late nineteenth, early 20th century. Pauper Costs One issue we’re…
Settlement Expands to Upper Housatonic Township – Great Barrington Voted the “Best Small Town in America,”* by Smithsonian Magazine in 2012, Great Barrington has clearly overcome early bumps in the…
In King George’s War, New France (Canada) Continued to Use Indian Allies to Terrorize New England and Upstate New York In Europe this was known as The War of the…
Started as a Stagecoach Stop Since the earliest days of the county Lenox’s Main St. has been a path-road-highway from the southern entrance to the county to Pittsfield. The site…
The Stockbridge Indian lands included part of what would become Lenox. Why the Stockbridge Indians were here and why they sold their land is an important part of the story…
Settlement of Berkshire County Begins with Sheffield As early as 1662, John Pynchon, son of the founder of Springfield, attempted to establish a trading post on the Housatonic between what…
Queen Anne’s War (1702-1713) In Europe, this conflict was known as the “War of the Spanish Succession,” and was, as the name suggests a balance of power struggle between England…
We continue to follow Oliver Osborne’s journal – picking up from January 1861. Here are some comments on the remainder of 1861 -it was a momentous year for the world…
First of Four Wars Impacting Western New England King William’s War was the first of four wars in which the French colonials (in Canada and elsewhere) and the British colonials…
Four Almost Continuous Wars in the 18th Century All four of the French and Indian Wars were fought before the settlement of Lenox. However they are part of the Lenox story since…
Lenox Water System – Meeting Challenges The clear, drinkable water we get from our taps is easy to take for granted. Lenox is fortunate to live in a region with…
Theocracy By the time Lenox was founded, Massachusetts had become a secular British colony. But it is worth reviewing the evolution from theocracy to colony since many elements of the…
Now gone – structure on southwest corner of Housatonic and Church and on northeast corner. What’s the same? Former Episcopal Church on the left (27 Church) Edge of former Methodist Church…
Metacom or King Phillip – Charismatic Leader Metacom, called “King Phillip,” by the English became sachem of the Plymouth area tribe in 1662. Metacom, or King Phillip as he was…
Following the “Great Migration” population grew and demand for land pushed settlers west and south., the settlers and their offspring spread out – first to the Connecticut Coast (see Native…
A 1943 Town and Country article introduced an article on the beautiful summer home of George Morris and Suzy Frelinghuysen with the headline “Mutiny in the Berkshires.” First Modernist House in…
Between about 1630 and 1640, as many as 20,000 men, women and children left England for New England. Most if not all of the settlers of Lenox can trace their…
Oliver Webster Osborn (1823-1895) is very fondly remembered by Lenox historians because he compiled “The East Street Book.” Oliver hand wrote this wonderful description of East Street families as of…
Native American Population Before European settlement, the native population between the Appalachians and the Atlantic was estimated at over 1 million*. By the time the Mahicans settled in Stockbridge in…
Why did the Age of Exploration that eventually led to the European settlement of the Berkshires begin in the 1400’s? Fear, greed and new technology.
Vikings Probably Earliest Europeans The first Europeans to get remotely close to Massachusetts were probably Vikings from Iceland. There is archaeological evidence of a 1,000 year old Viking settlement at L’Anse Aux…
There’s no evidence that anyone from Henry Hudson’s expedition was any closer to the Berkshires than the Hudson River. But it is very likely, tales of the wondrous craft, “a…
From their earliest explorations of North America, Europeans influenced (and generally not for the better) North American native life. So, by the time early Berkshire settlers encountered Native Americans, Indian…
How long have there been people in the Berkshires? Hard to know but based on a recent lecture sponsored by Bidwell House there is evidence we had tourists as long…
Roselle Charlock gave a talk Oct. 30, 2014 at the Lenox Library which rounded out the information from Rick Goeld on Windsor Mountain School. Rosalie’s talk provided an introduction to her…
From 1950 to 1961 Bruno and Claire Aron owned what is now Ventfort Hall and ran it as a hotel for culture oriented travelers of all races and religions. Festival…
The Gilded Age returns to Elm Court in Lenox October 10, 2014 Post by . Gilded Age Coaching