Designed by Pittsfield architect, Wilson Eyre, Thomas Shields Clark completed his Lenox estate, Fernbrook in 1904. Featured in the 1909 House Beautiful, Clark’s Lenox estate and studio was considered the…
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For over a century, the traveler on the road from Lenox to Pittsfield would be impressed by a series of fine brick Federal style houses. North of the…
Col. Richard T. Auchmuty (1831-1893), architect and owner of the Dormers, had a distinguished heritage. His great grandfather was rector of New York’s Trinity Church in 1763. He joined the…
R.T. Auchmuty served in the Civil War and built the dormers in 1868 after marrying Lenox heiress, Ellen Schermerhorn. Col. Auchmuty was a major contributor to civic life in Lenox…
In 1889 Edward Livingston and his wife Sarah Pollack Livingston hired revered architect George Thomas Tilden (1845-1919) to build their beautiful Cliffwood Street mansion – Osceola. (some sources report the build…
The 28th “new” Lenox Tub Parade made its annual appearance this September. The “new” tub parade has now appeared longer…
With many thanks to Cornelia Gilder for this wonderful write up of 17 West Street. Cozy Nook Built Civil War Era With its…
Water Power Key to Glass Making The water power of the Housatonic had already been put to work in Lenox Furnace to drive a sawmill, gristmill, fulling mill and iron…
MacDonald Farm/ Twin Maples/ Cornell Inn The Cornell house was built in 1888 by the Cornell family, having purchased the property from the MacDonalds, next door. For most of its…
From Little Women to Downton Abbey In the 19th and early 20th century, Lenox evolved from farm community and county seat to a resort for the ultra wealthy. In the…
Fernbrook Fernbrook was constructed in 1904 for Thomas Shields and Adelaide Knox Clarke. On West Mountain Road it stands today as Hillcrest School. Valleyhead Valleyhead was built…
Many of the historic houses of Hawthorne Street are actually in Stockbridge – but they’re often associated with Lenox. Hawthorne Street as we know it did not exist at the…
Judge Bishop House – Gone But Not Forgotten Corner of West and Main. Cozynook Cozynook was built for George Tucker in 1865. This charming house…
Cliffwood has so many lovely homes today that they could all be considered estates in modern terms. For the sake of manageability, this enumeration is limited to those that have…
A plaque across from Hawthorne Street celebrates the location of the first settler of Lenox – Jonathan Hinsdale. It was, for a long time, the primary north-south route to Stockbridge…
Windyside Windyside (111 Yokun) was built by Boston physician Richard Cranch Greenleaf (1845-1913) and his wife Adeline Emma Stone (1849- 1936). It is notable as one of the few stick…
*The Bishop Guest Houses Thirty five and forty five Walker were built as “overflow” guest houses for the Bishop family Thirty Five, called the Henry W. Bishop House was built…
Frelinghuysen Cottage Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, who served as Secretary of State under Chester A. Arthur, and his wife Martha Griswold Frelinghuysen built this house in 1888 (some sources say 1881)…
Henry Ward Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe Henry Ward Beecher became minister of Plymouth Congregational Church in Brooklyn (shown here with his equally famous sister Harriet Beecher Stowe) in 1847....
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The Mount Fortunately both the buildings and grounds of Edith Wharton’s 1902 masterpiece have been largely restored. The Mount is notable for its lightness and modernity in comparison to…
Newport and Lenox had shared families, architects and roles in the Gilded Age. They also differed in several important ways that had impact on their future. We were fortunate…
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…
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…
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…
The Gilded Age returns to Elm Court in Lenox October 10, 2014 Post by . Gilded Age Coaching
Grenville LIndall Winthrop built Groton Place in 1905 as a summer home. It encompassed the stone villa on this site from 1858 (The Elms). The new Carrera & Hastings designed…
An excellent example of the immigrants who came to work on the estates – and whose descendants populate modern Lenox. L.C. Peters, one of 10 children, left Kent, England in…
Born in 1850, Edward R. (Teddy ) Wharton was destined to live the stereotypical version of the Gilded Age life so elegantly portrayed by his wife Edith Jones Wharton. Son…
Belvoir Terrace was designed by Rotch & Tilden and built between 1888-1890 for Morris K. Jesup, with landscaping by Frederick Law Olmstead. John Shepherd purchased the estate in the early…
From Surveys Completed 2011-2012 by the Lenox Historical Commission ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION: This Colonial Revival style building has two stories, an asphalt shingle roof and has been altered. It now has…
From Surveys Completed 2011-2012 by the Lenox Historical Commission ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION: This is a 2-story, wood-framed house with wood clapboard and shingle siding prominently sited atop a hillock. It displays…
From Surveys Completed 2011-2012 by the Lenox Historical Commission ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION: This house displays a transitional architectural style from Gothic Revival to Queen Anne. The wood-framed building originally had an…