Category Archives: People and Places

Human activity including migrations, individual people, families and the institutions they formed in Lenox. Geography, historic sites and homes in Lenox.

Places

The Establishment of Berkshire County

May 18, 2015 lenoxhistory

Berkshire County was established in 1761 — almost a hundred years after Hamshire (later Hamden, Hampshire and Franklin) County to the East. Why establish a new Massachusetts county at all? Why so much later than the rest of the state?

Objectives of Settlement Included Defense ad Revenue

By 1761, the last of the French and Indian wars were winding down, but the English administration had no way of knowing they were going to end up controlling the northeast of what would become the United States. So, settlement created an obstacle for potential continued raids by the French and their Indian allies. It also led to road building and increased trade On the flip side, the winding down of potential raids with the English capture of Quebec September 13, 1759, made settlement along the Hudson and the Housatonic more attractive.

untitled-1 — At the time the county was founded, “official” towns were limited to upper and lower Housatonic, and Poontusuck. Although Poontusuck had been temporarily abandoned drinking the French and Indian War.

As we discussed in the history of Sheffield, New York landholders claimed southwestern Massachusetts based on purchases 1685-1704 from the Indians called the Westenhook patent. At one time, New York claimed their boundary ran to the Connecticut River. As indicated by the map below, there was still, as of 1761, controversy about the border remained.

Early Berkshire County Potential Townships

Settlement, the royal Massachusetts government reasoned, would help establish the border. In fact, the Massachusetts-New York border was not finally settled until a 1787 survey done by David Rittenhouse and Thomas Hutchins.

Many of the grants made prior to the formation of Berkshire County were in what would become Lenox.

Detail of the early county map shows the land grants that had been given out prior to the establishment of Berkshire County. Many of them fell into what would become Lenox.

Finally, settlement meant revenue for the commonwealth from land sales and income from settlers. The Stamp Act was coming and the English were scrambling to pay for the French and Indian War.

The Wild West

Because of the fear of raids, the border disputes–and of course– the mountains Berkshire County remained largely unsettled. What would become Lenox had only a handful of families at the time. In Beer’s History of Berkshire County (page 66)* a 1744 Berkshire County population of 500 is estimated. We have not yet found a source for an estimate as of 1761 but 1,000 would be a reasonable guess based on the 1744 population. As shown below, settlement was still limited primarily to Sheffield and Stockbridge. Poontoosuc (later Pittsfield) had been settled then temporarily abandoned during the last French and Indian War.

The other demarcations show grants made to individuals. Many of them would be incorporated into what would later become Lenox.

Trails had only begun to be improved to be anything like roads. Anything that wasn’t swamp or rock was dense original growth forest with only a few meadows along the rivers.* The hearty initial settlers would have to have been good with an ax if they intended to farm.

The Governor Makes it Official

gov bernard_191 — Sir Francis Bernard (1712-1777

Francis Bernard (Sir Francis Bernard, the title granted after his return to England) was the royal governor of Massachusetts from 1760-1768.

He had an interesting history including being awarded Mount Dessert Island (Maine was then part of Massachusetts at the time) for his service. HIs service was an illustration of the close circle of patronage of Colonial posts in North America. His neighbor in England, Thomas Pownall had been an earlier governor of Massachusetts and his wife was a cousin of Lord Barrington who became Privy Councilor in 1755. Sir Francis had been governor of New Jersey 1758-1760.

The merit of his appointment can be questioned in retrospect. His strict and harsh enforcement of the Navigation Acts, the Sugar Act and other revenue acts contributed to the Revolution. He sought to have British troops stationed in Boston and was finally recalled in 1769 after publication of letters in which he criticized the Colonies.

One can imagine him being petitioned by the General Assembly and whatever the lobbyists of the time were to encourage settlement of the western part of the state. Landowners and speculators, among others, would have been interested in improving the value of their holdings.

Berkshire County UKVirginiaWater_AerialView — Berkshire County, UK; Great Windsor Park

He named the new county for the county of his birth in England. In 1974 the town of his birth, Brightwell-cum- Sotwell became part of Oxfordshire. In southeastern England, Berkshire is one of the oldest counties in England (thought to date from the 840’s) and is the home of Windsor Castle.

*History of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men, Vol. I, edited by Mr. J.E.A. Smith, J.B. Beers & Co. New York, 1885

People, The Big Picture

Transportation and Settlement for Early Lenox Settlers

May 18, 2015 lenoxhistory

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 accounts from similar settlements. The Berkshires, particularly in the Lenox area, had been used more for hunting than cultivation by the Indians, so there would not, as there had been in the eastern part of the state, have been any prior clearing. Most land would have been heavily wooded with original growth forest and probably thick with underbrush. Without clearing, food was limited to hunting and gathering.

Clearing Trees

Initial clearing was generally done by girdling the trees, felling them and letting the stumps die off. While the land was still full of stumps, it would have been difficult to grow wheat or other European crops. Probably, therefore, initial agriculture would have been to grow native plants such as corn, beans and pumpkins and raise livestock that could live by foraging – such as pigs and goats. This would have been so much work that the settler probably would have cleared a couple of acres one year, then a few more the next. Obviously meadowland or previously cleared land was at a premium. Reportedly, by 1800, the land was bare of trees!

Timber was potentially a cash crop. It could be sold for planing into planks, for ship masts, for pitch or for fuel. However, it’s not clear that there was, in the earliest days, a way to get raw logs to market. Felled trees may have just been used to build rudimentary log shelters and for fuel. One source* reports it took an acre of timber to heat a family for a year!

Travel and Transportation of Goods

Accounts of initial settlement of Sheffield and Pittsfield report individuals coming to clear their lots on paths that could barely accommodate one person or horse single file. In that condition any goods (from farm tools, to nails, to blankets and clothing) would have to have been carried in on the back of a horse or a man. Enough improvement in roads to accommodate an ox cart would have allowed settlers to bring in goods made nearby such as nails, planed planks, tools and ground corn. Goods manufactured outside of the rural Berkshires – such as bricks, cloth, guns, glass, books and paper – would have to have been moved from a port city; perhaps up the Hudson and then over and up from the road through Great Barrington?

It is not yet clear what roads might have been available. Early plot plans for Mt. Epraim/Yokuntown show some county roads (presumably these could have accommodated carts or other means of hauling goods), but we have not yet found a date for when these roads would have been cleared. The county roads (whenever they were put in) appear to have connected Sheffield, Great Barrington, Stockbridge and Poontusuck (Pittsfield) – much as Route 7 does today.

Early Farming and Industry

The settlers might or might not have had oxen or other work animals. Horses were generally a luxury for the wealthy and many farmers would have had to borrow (in return for some other bartered favor or crops) the use of farm animals to haul goods and break the soil. Cattle and sheep would become important sources for both sustenance and sale. But in the early days, foraging animals such as goats or pigs would have been most common. They probably would have been driven in from of the walking or riding settlers and allowed to wander freely (with notched ears or other markers of ownership).

Setting up mills for planing logs, forging iron, and grinding corn and other grains would have been a priority. Maps from the 1790’s show several mills in Lenox. Until mills became available, settlers would have had to transport raw materials to Stockbridge or other towns settled earlier to have them worked.

House Meeting Settlement Guidelines Re-creation in Williamstown, MA

Initial houses would have been windowless and rudimentary, perhaps with only one room initially with a fire place that would have to double for light, heat and cooking. There may have been a loft for sleeping and generally a dirt floor.

Settlers would have upgraded to frame houses with stone foundations as soon as they could, but often the original log house would stand into the 19th century.

As the children and grandchildren of early settlers of Westfield, Sheffield and western Connecticut, the Lenox settlers would have known what they had to do to make corn meal, hunt for game, find wild berries and herbs, and slaughter and smoke their meat. Their parents or grandparents would have created similar shelters for the first phase of their housing. They probably would have had a treasured metal pot and metal crane for cooking, melting ice, etc.

Settlers would upgrade housing, crops and livestock as quickly as money or more readily available resources permitted.

See

Daily Life in Colonial New England, Claudia Durst Johnson, Greenwood Press, Daily Life History Series

Daily Life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, George Francis Dow, Arno Press, A New York Times Company, New York, 1977

Early Life in Sheffield Berkshire County, Massachusetts, A Portrait of Its Ordinary People from Settlement to 1860, James R. Miller, Sheffield Historical Society 2002

The History of Pittsfield 1734-1800, J.E.A. Smith, Lee and Shepherd, 1869

People, People and Places

Margaret Emerson, Holmwood, and Ventfort Hall

May 11, 2015 lenoxhistory 3 Comments

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

In a clear case of six degrees of separation, Nini shared a photo of Margaret as a Red Cross Director at Hickam Field in Hawaii. Nini had the photo because Margaret (now going by “Mrs. Emerson”) had been Nini’s mother’s boss during WWII. In the spirit of that remarkable coincidence, Nini sported her mother’s natty Red Cross uniform for part of her talk (with a photo of Margaret in the background).

Margaret’s management experience came from supervising her 20+ servants, multiple households…. and lots of money.

MargaretEmersonVanderbilt — Margaret Emerson as a Young Beauty

To Begin…Rich and Beautiful

We can only hope that someday Margaret’s colorful, old money life gets made into the movie it deserves. Before marrying money, it helps to start beautiful and with a fortune of your own. Margaret was heir to the Bromo-Seltzer (started in Baltimore by her father) fortune and married a wealthy Baltimore physician, Dr. McKim. She went to Reno to obtain a divorce, on the grounds of cruelty and failure to provide**, in 1910. She wed fabulously wealthy Alfred Vanderbilt in London in 1911. One source reported that Dr. McKim was on the verge of bringing an alienation of affections suit against Vanderbilt (whose first wife had divorced him claiming adultery) but was paid $200,000 by Margaret’s father to drop the suit**. (You can’t make this stuff up.)

4_Park_Avenue_Vanderbilt_Hotel — Vanderbilt Hotel, Built 1913, 4 Park Avenue

A grandson of family patriarch, Commodore Vanderbilt, Alfred was a sportsman and coaching enthusiast but also made a few decent real estate deals such as the Vanderbilt Hotel. (It helps if your family’s holdings include a home on what would become Park Avenue and Grand Central.)

In 1901 Alfred had purchased a magnificent Adirondack Lodge at Sagamore Lake. It would remain in Margaret’s family until 1954 and be the site for entertainment of notables such as Gary Cooper, Jerome Kern and General George Marshall.***

Alfred had two children, Alfred II (1912-1999) and and George III (1914-1961) with Margaret before sailing on the doomed Lusitania, in 1915, for an the Annual Meeting of the Horse Breeder’s Association and to bring supplies to the Red Cross. A gentleman to the end, Alfred allegedly perished after giving his life jacket to a woman who could not find hers.

The Widow Comes to Lenox

The widow would have been familiar with Lenox as a visitor to her husband’s cousin (Emily Vanderbilt Sloane – Elm Court) as well as other society cottagers. Mrs. Sloane’s daughter (Lila Vanderbilt Sloane Field) was a good friend would become a neighbor having built High Lawn in 1909. So it is not surprising that Margaret chose, a month after her husband’s death to come to Lenox where she rented a modest summer place – Shadow Brook. In 1916 she had to find new quarters as the property had been sold to Andrew Carnegie who could no longer, because of the war, go back and forth to his castle in Scotland.

From 1916 to 1917 she rented Ventfort Hall. Nini had several pictures of the children enjoying the grounds including a birthday party photo that included Nini’s mother.

Erskine Park and Holmwood

Erskine Park_NEW — Erskine Park Which Was Razed to Make Room for Holmwood

Erskine Park had been built for George and Marguerite Westinghouse in 1890 and was, by 1911, surrounded by 600 landscaped acres. Margaret bought the property on the condition that the elaborately decorated house be razed.

Holmwood (Later Foxhollow and More Recently Enlighten Next)

She went right to work to build a brand new Delano and Aldrich designed Colonial Revival home with a large music room and portico. She particularly liked the fact that the grounds included space for croquet, tennis, and a gymnasium for the boys. Nice pad for a few weeks a year (since the family also lived in Palm Beach, New York, and the Great Sagamore). Holmwood, named for a spot in England that was the site of a memorial to Alfred Vanderbilt, was sold to the Foxhollow School for Girls in 1939.

More Husbands and More Adventures

MargaretmarriesBaker — Margaret Wed Raymond Baker at Holmwood in June 1918

Margaret barely made it into Holmwood in time to marry husband #3, Raymond T. Baker (1875-1935). In another “you can’t make this stuff up,” she had met Baker in Reno when she was getting a divorce from husband #1. One of the social columns** reported, before she married Alfred, that “Mrs. McKim created quite a stir in San Francisco on one occasion when she departed for the orient, waving kisses to Ray Baker, the novelist and clubman, when the steamer left the dock.” They had a daughter, Gloria (1920-1975).

Ever the Sportswoman, Margaret (Left) at Saratoga

They divorced in October 1928. Not one to let the grass grow under her feet, Margaret married husband #4, Charles Minot Amory (he was from Boston – they had met in Palm Beach) in November 1928. They divorced several years later.

*Houses of the Berkshires, 1870-1930, by Richard Jackson Jr. and Cornelia Brooke Gilder, Acanthus Press, New York, 2006

**San Francisco Call, Volume 112, Number 115, September 23, 1912, “New Vanderbilt Heir is Born, Stork Crowns Reno Divorce.”

***greatsagamorecamp.org

Also Wikipedia on Alfred Vanderbilt

Places

Bellefontaine

April 12, 2015 lenoxhistory

Bellefontaine Talk by Richard Jackson at Ventfort Hall

Richard Jackson Talk on Bellefontaine at Ventfort Hall April 11, 2015

Bellefontaine was built in 1896-1898 for Giraud and Jean Foster. Giraud Foster (born in 1851) lived at Bellefontaine until his death in 1945 and could be considered to have watched over the sunset of Lenox’s Gilded Age.

The estate was sold in 1946 and burned in 1949. The fire destroyed most of the interior but the shell remained and the mansion was rebuilt. It has taken on a new life as a key part of Canyon Ranch.

Bellefontaine after 1949 Fire — Bellefontaine after 1949 Fi

The talk included personal reminiscences from Giraud Foster’s granddaughter Jane.

Granddaughter Judy Foster and Great grandson Giraud Foster. — Granddaughter Jane Foster and Great Grandson Giraud Lorber at Ventfort Hall

Estate and Treasures Part of a Prototypical Gilded Age Life

Postcard of Bellefontaine in all its Glory - Rear Entrance — Postcard of Bellefontaine in all its Glory – Rear Entrance

Carrere & Hastings were the architects.

They designed the New York Public Library and the Newport home of Mrs. Foster’s sister, Anna Van Nest Gambrill. In keeping with the recreational rhythm of the Gilded Age, the Fosters spent summers in Newport and Mrs. Gambrill (and others) spent fall in Lenox. Of course there were trips in between to Palm Beach; Aiken, South Carolina; and the south of France.

The pillared rear entrance showed some obeisance to the Petit Trianon at Versailles and the interior was furnished in the manner of various Louis’s.

Venetian Glass and Other Bellefontaine Treasures on Display at Ventfort Hall

The landscape included statuary (most of which was subsequently destroyed by one of the religious orders that took over the building after Foster’s death), formal gardens and a large greenhouse complex.

Extensive Greenhouse Complex part of the Responsibility of Mr. Jenkins, the Superintendent — Extensive Greenhouse Complex part of the Responsibilities of Mr. Jenkins, the Superintendent.

A Life from Another Time

Although Giraud Foster’s fortune at the time Bellefontaine was constructed was attributed to coal, the Foster family had had a flourishing business in the clipper ship era (some of the tableware from China is in the Ventfort Hall exhibit). The Giraud name traced back to Huguenots who were among the earliest settlers of New York and Jean Van Nest Foster was from an old Dutch family with wealth and property of its own.

Jean Van Nest had suffered from rheumatic fever when she and Giraud met so they delayed marriage until he was 43, she 32. The birth of their one child more than ten years later was a surprise. The younger Giraud, known as “Boy” when young, was Jane Foster’s father. Jean predeceased Giraud in 1932.

One of the Famous Birthday Parties with the younger Giraud ("Boy") Standing Behind his Father — One of the Famous Birthday Parties with the younger Giraud (“Boy”) Standing Behind his Father

Giraud continued to live a life Downtown Abbey fans would appreciate as a horseman, regular attendee at Trinity Church, and head of the Lenox Club and Mahkeenac Boating Club. He was an avid bridge player and was famed for his birthday parties.

See The Houses of the Berkshires, 1870-1930, Richard S. Jackson Jr. and Cornelia Brooke Gilder, Acanthus Press

Places

Easter Fire on Lenox Main Street 1909

April 8, 2015 lenoxhistory

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 now occupied by the Village Shopping Center included, before the fire, the wooden buildings shown here. They housed Clifford & Sons which stocked the turpentine, paints and oils thought to be the source of the fire.

11103246_953547778002468_3029941433706867843_o — The Mahanna Building Was Gutted but Rebuilt and is Now the Shops and Apartments of 74 Main

Fire Burned From Main to Church

The fire burned all the way back to Church St. and destroyed the Clifford building shown above, the Bull buildings and the residences of Joseph Gilbert, and Mrs. Rose Colbert and some smaller structures.

11095595_953548181335761_6278844651788077335_o — Looking Back Toward Main from Church Street

Lives and Property Lost

Here’s an excerpt from the April 12 special to the New York Times:

Six persons were killed in the fire which almost wiped out the business section of Lenox early this morning. Four business blocks and two dwellings were destroyed. The property loss is estimated at $250,000, with insurance of $111,000. New Yorkers who were at the Curtis Hotel on an Easter visit helped persons driven from their homes.

The six persons who were killed were asleep in the Clifford Building, a three-story structure, when the fire started.

They were:

COOK, Miss ISABEL, 40 years old, a bookkeeper.

FRENCH, Miss ALICE, 41 years old, a bookkeeper.

SPARKS, Miss MARY, 26 years old, a school-teacher.

VENTRES, EDWARD S., 41 years old, an electrician; his wife, 35 years old, and their daughter, Leslie, 12 years old.

Mrs. Catherine Root and her sons, George and Arthur, were badly burned in escaping from the building.

Explosion Causes the Fatalities.

The fire is supposed to have started from spontaneous combustion in the stock of James Clifford & Sons Company, hardware dealers. They had turpentine, paints, oils, and dynamite stored in the basement.

George Root, who lived in the upper story of the Clifford Block, was awakened shortly after 1 o’clock this morning by smoke that rolled into his room from a partly covered chimney hole. He called his brother and mother, and they ran down the front stairs in their night clothes, shouting to the other occupants of the upper floors as they went. They found the front door in flames, but the men wrenched it open and they dashed through.

The Roots had barely crossed the street before there was a traffic explosion in the building behind them, and in an instant the Clifford block was all aflame. This explosion was heard for a distance of six miles, shattered windows within a wide radius and caused the fire alarm to ring.

Horace Perrill and his wife, other occupants of the top floor, aroused by the shouts of the Roots, had got half way down the front stairs when they saw the flames leaping up to bar their exit. Three women were below them, trying to get out through the front door, but Perrill saw that the attempt was useless. He rushed his wife through a long corridor to the back stairs, and got out in safety.

All the other occupants of the Clifford Block lost their lives. While the fire was at its height a woman was seen to climb out of a flame filled room to a veranda on the second story with her night clothing and hair ablaze. Staggering to the railing, she leaped to the sidewalk, landing in a heap within a few feet of the blazing walls. Some of the onlookers tried to rush in to drag her out, but the intense heat drove them back, and it was hours later before the body, that of Miss Alice French, was recovered. The bodies of the other victims are probably in the cellar of the block, but they cannot be reached until some time to-morrow.

Within ten minutes of the explosion the flames were licking up the Eddy Building on the south. In this block the people had been almost hurled out of their beds by the explosion, and they lost no time in making their way to the street in their night clothes. The night air was cold, the temperature being about 20 above zero.

Lenox has only a small volunteer Fire Department, and until aid came from Pittsfield, Richmond, and Lee the flames spread rapidly. The Clifford, Eddy, Mahanna, and Bull buildings, the residences of Joseph Gilbert and Mrs. Rose Colbert, and some smaller structures were destroyed. Only a shift of the wind from northwest to southwest saved the Public Library and the Curtis Hotel. Seven of the large elm trees, which are the pride of the Lenox Main Street, were so badly damaged that they will have to be cut down.

New Yorkers Aid Victims.

Many prominent New York and Boston society people were at the Curtis Hotel over Easter. When the explosion was heard many of the hotel party thought that burglars were at work in the Lenox National Bank, across the street. The sudden glare and crackle of the flames, however, aroused them speedily and they hurried to the scene, where they at once took in charge the shivering people 20 degrees above zero, were watching the destruction of their property. The sufferers were taken to the hotel, where warm clothes and every care were given to them.

Among those who assisted in this work were Mrs. Frank K. Sturgis, Mrs. John E. Alexandre, Miss Helen Alexandre, Mrs. Lindsay Fairfax, and Mrs. William H. Bradford. At the Curtis Hotel to-night Mrs. Lindsay Fairfax headed a subscription paper to aid the sufferers and $2,600 was raised.

A proposition was made to-night to raise a fund of $10,000 among the New York Summer residents of Lenox for the fire sufferers. All the villa owners will be asked to subscribe to the fund. A committee will meet in New York to-morrow morning to take up the matter. Easter guests at Curtis Hotel may further assist by a benefit entertainment.

Valuable plans for work on the Robert W. Paterson place, the new Lenox High School, and other villas which the Cliffords had under way were burned, and nothing can be done until new plans have been prepared, and many men will be thrown out of work. It is expected that temporary buildings will be put up by storekeepers. Without these shops villa owners would be compelled to purchase in Pittsfield, Lee, and other towns.

Horses Saved

The South Side of Franklin Street was the Tillotson Livery Complex

At the time, most of Franklin Street was taken up by the Tillotson livery complex. The horses were released and ran for miles. It took days to recapture them all.

Fire Department Better Late than Never

There had been discussion of a Lenox Fire Department but nothing had been done. After the fire a department was quickly formed and a Fire Truck purchased.

Places

Settlement of the Berkshires – Poontoosuck

April 8, 2015 lenoxhistory Leave a comment

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 most from the continuing conflict between New England settlers and the French and their Indian allies.

In 1722, 177 men from Hampshire County sought a grant for the “Valley of the Hoosatonuk,” or “Westbrook.” By 1735 Boston was seeking proprietors for 3-4 townships to

-generate income for the Boston poor and free schools

-establish settlement in the area recently disputed with New York

-populate the area with Massachusetts men (and women) who could protect the colony from future invasions from New France (Canada.)

Col. Jacob Wendall purchased the 24,000 acres that would become Pittsfield for about 2100 pounds. He partnered with Phillip Livingston of New York and Capt. John Stoddard of Northampton who had already been given 1000 acres in return for his military service. Livingston had thought to sell parcels to 60 Dutch families there from New York to meet the settlement requirements. The New Yorkers were not that interested plus someone got around to read the fine print of the grant and realized the settlers had to be from Massachusetts.

Finally, in 1743, 40 young men had been assembled who were ready, willing and able to take their chances in return for cheap land in this frontier area and clearing began. Unfortuntely, war broke out again in 1744 (King George’s War/ War of the Austrian Succession) and clearing and building was largely abandoned. Many of these men would have been back and forth for general militia duty or defense of Fort Massachusetts (near modern day Adams).

With peace, many of these hopefuls returned along with additional purchasers, and by 1752 some temporary log cabins were built. The first settlers, Solomon Deming and his wife Sarah travelled through the woods clearing a path as they went. They came from Wethersfield and others from Connecticut and Northampton followed. By 1753 things were looking promising enough that a petition was presented to the general court for township status (which would have provided for collection of taxes for roads, meeting house, etc.) Good progress had been made with most of the 60 proprietor lots taken up and population had climbed to around 200. However progress was again halted by war.

The Flight from Poontoosuck and Lenox to Stockbridge

Although the concentrated Indian population of the Berkshires (about 300 Stockbridge Indians) remained peaceful, several Indians wondering through the Berkshires and angered by the death of a family member in a horse theft incident touched off a new wave of fear of Indian attack. This was followed in short order by a new French and Indian War in 1756.

Based on the initial Indian violence in 1753, Berkshire County sent for reinforcements. With the help of horses from Connecticut, Poontoosuck evacuated to Stockbridge in haste. The refugees were fired on as they fled south and one man (Stevens or Stearn) was killed. The woman riding with him was rescued by Jonathan Hinsdale of Lenox.

Developing Property vs. Serving in the Militia

Settlers tried to return to protect, and if possible, cultivate their properties. Many of the men would have been in the militia defending Fort Massachusetts (near Adams), Fort Anson in Poontusuck, or to participate in the ill-fated attempt to capture Fort Ticonderoga. Poontoosuck would have been a stopping place for troops from the rest of New England on their way to Canada or Fort Royal and some would return as settlers.

Settlement Began in Earnest in 1759

With Wolfe’s capture of Quebec in 1759 settlers started returning in earnest. In 1761 Poontusuck was granted the right to incorporate and the name Pittsfield was chosen in honor of Prime Minister William Pitt who had lobbied Parliament to provide military support for the colonists against the French and the Spanish.

*”Poontoosuck” = another phonetic Indian name spelled many different ways. This spelling is taken from the 1752 survey.

See

A History of the County of Berkshire, Massachusetts, by David Dudley Field and Chester Derwey, Pittsfield 1929, “A History of the Town of Pittsfield, ” by Henry Strong

A History of the Town of Pittsfield in Berkshire County, Massachusetts 1734-1800, by J.E.A Smith, Published by The Town of Pittsfield, 1868

Berkshire Creative Website, 2014

Wikipedia, 2014

Institutions

Lenox Town Business – Late Nineteenth Century

April 2, 2015 lenoxhistory

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.

default — Getting the Sunday mail at the old town hall

Pauper Costs

One issue we’re not concerned with these days is the cost of paupers. More than 10% of the town budget went to the support of paupers and there was apparently a constant effort to get people off the town’s rolls and onto someone else’s. For instance, in 1868, the town warrant identified Mrs. Garnier as a pauper who was the widow of Frank Garnier who had been born in France – which meant she should be supported by the state alms house. Apparently the argument didn’t fly as Mrs. Garnier shows up in several subsequent years on the pauper rolls.

The support for paupers tells sad tales. Here is the 1875 detail for one family:

J.F. Morrell coal for Mrs. Farrington $10.50
- F. McDonald good for Mrs. Farrington $15.79
- ” $11.53
- Otis Clapp pasturing Mrs. Farrington’s cow $10.40
- J.F. Morrell coal for Farrington family $13.94
- E. McDonald supplies Farrington family $24.29
- C.G. Banks attending funeral for Farrington child $ 9.00
- D. Wood wood for Farrington family $ 8.00
- S.P. Millard coffin for Farrington child $15.00
- Perry & Co. coal to Mrs. Farrington’s $18.63
- E.McDonald goods Farrington family $10.27
- Dr. C.E. Heath services for Farrington family $78.00
- Wm. Perry wood, potatoes Farrington family $ 8.00
- Perry & Co. coal Farrington family $ 8.46
- D.W, Noyes medecine Farrington family $36.58
- Thatcher and Stone supplies for Farrington family $13.20
- G.F. Washburn supplies for Farrington family $176.35

Unfortunately the Farringtons show up again in subsequent years.

In 1889 the town report noted that the number of persons requiring support was increasing and the costs kept exceeding allocation. It was recommended consideration be given to purchasing a farm where they could be taken care of.

Sewers

In 1889, the town set aside the considerable sum of $7500 for new sewers and disposal field. Ernest Bowditch was the engineer and we hope he did a great job because we’re probably still using some of those pipes.

Schools

In 1875, primary (common) school and high school were still in the Academy building. The School Committee had a slight surplus that year so was to be able to buy some advanced equipment – suitable maps and globes.

The school committee was pleased to continue using graduates of the high school to teach in the common school (so money did not go out of town). The methods of instruction had been improved with the help of Mr. Walton of the State Board of Education and the school committee said they “hope for further assistance from him.” (Be careful what you wish for)

Trees

In hindsight, the 1915 report of tree warden F. Francis Mackey is so sad, it is repeated here almost verbatim:

“Early in March the work of removing tent caterpillar nests from the trees on the highways was taken up. Most of the wild cherry and wild apple trees were cut down and the egg clusters of the caterpillar destroyed………The maples on Court House Hill are in very poor condition being too old for any effective repairs, and I would advise the planting of elms on that street as in a year or two most of the maples will have to be removed. …. There is a movement throughout the state for the planting of more shade trees. The Mass. Forestry Association has offered a prize of 200 trees for the town doing the most planting during the year. The Lenox Improvement Society has already planted about 50 elms, and I would advise that 50 more be planted, trees being needed on Christian Hill in New Lenox and Lenox Dale. …”

The next report is from the Moth Superintendent – so we can’t say our forefathers weren’t tried to beat back the gypsy moth problem.

Thanks to the Lenox Historical Society for Town Reports.

Places

Settlement of Great Barrington

March 30, 2015 lenoxhistory Leave a comment

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 road. However, in its early formation and settlement, Great Barrington illustrated the challenges in the systematic process of town formation the Puritans and then the Massachusetts Royal Government had practiced for more than 100 years. Like all systems, the town formation approach required good and consistent leadership, and some luck. It is also possible that by the mid 18th century the old ways were loosening up.

The Great Wigwam and the Patent of Wesbenhook

Unlike Lenox (for which we find no record of activity before the first settler in 1751), Great Barrington was active well before European settlement.

There is record of a “Great Wigwam” Indian settlement (thought to be near the current site of the Congregational Church)at a ford over the Housatonic but most of the Indians were gone by 1694 – said to have fled west in 1676 as a result of King Phillip’s War.

As with Sheffield and much of the rest of Berkshire County, the area had been part of a parcel (called the Patent of Westenhook which included modern day Sheffield, Great Barrington, Stockbridge, West Stockbridge, Mount Washington, Egremont and Alfrod) claimed by major landholders in New York (1685) and was open to Dutch settlers in 1705*.* However, there was very little settlement.

It was was also on the trail (road would be an overstatement) that went from Springfield to Westfield to Kinderhook to Albany and was used by soldiers from King Phillip’s War (1676) on.

In 1722 the General Court granted the opportunity to settle lower and Upper Housatonic townships. and in 1724 property was purchased from the Mahicans. The request made in 1733 to incorporate much of the lower parcel as Sheffield in 1733 was accepted in 1741.

Town Status and Settlement Delayed by New York Claims, Stockbridge Mission

The conflicting property claims (New York – Wesbenhook Patent vs. Massachusetts purchase from Chief Konkapot) came to a head about 1726-27. At least one Massachusetts settler was arrested for trespassing and transported to Albany and further land sale and settlement was stalled.

Then, in 1733, the General Court passed an order appointing John Ashley, Ebeneezer Pomeroy, Esq.’s, and Mr. Thomas Ingersoll to”bring forward” settlement of the Upper Township within two years. As late as 1742, Ephraim Williams was still bringing complaints about New Yorkers surveying properties in the Upper Housatonic.

In 1736 the portion of the upper township above Monument Mountain was set aside for the Stockbridge Indian Mission and further property distribution was again halted.

One author described the Upper Township remaining as “wild as ever, a plague to the decent people in the northern part of Sheffield.”** Perhaps some of this “wildness” could be attributed to stop/start nature of the town’s status – the challenges from the Dutch claims in 1727, partition to Stockbridge in 1736, complaints about how land was being distributed and dismissal of David Ingersoll as clerk in 1749 (and annulment of all prior land distributions) – or perhaps just loosening of standards from an earlier time.

By 1742 this “plague to decent people” had 200 residents and won the right to be the North Parish of Sheffield and obtain their own minister. They succeeded in attracting young Rev. Samuel Hopkins in 1743. However, due to delays in organizing the parish, he was not installed until 1745.

Town Status Finally Achieved in 1761- the County Seat Until After the Revolutionary War.

A further impediment to settlement, which the future Great Barrington shared with the rest of the future Berkshire County, was the French and Indian Wars Citizens were enlisted for the 1746-1747 march on Canada under Capt. Williams. Alarms and militia enlistment continued from 1753 to 1760. General Amherst marched through the town in 1758 on his way to attack Ticonderoga.

Finally, in 1761 the General Court allowed the North Parish to become the town of Great Barrington. Great Barrington was the site of the County Courts in 1774 and was a scene of early defiance of the Royal government. The town would go on to play an important role in the Revolution as well as in the aftermath – Shay’s Rebellion.

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*”The 20 Best Small Towns in America of 2012,” by Susan Spano and Aviva Shen, Smithsonian Magazine, May 1, 2012

**History of Great Barrington, Charles James Taylor, Clark W. Bryan Publ., 1882

***Housatonic, Puritan River, by Chard Powers Smith, Rinehart and Company, 1946, p. 59

Also see: A History of the County of Berkshire, Massachusetts, David Dudley Field, Printed by Samuel Bush, Pittsfield, 1829 “Great Barrington.”, History of Great Barrington,

Places

Lenox Crossroads and Bypasses

March 16, 2015 lenoxhistory Leave a comment

The Curtis Hotel - mid 19th Century — The Curtis Hotel – mid 19th Century

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 of the Curtis Hotel was a stagecoach stop before Lenox even existed as a town.

Lenox Main Street Settled Into Current Location About 1800

Entering Lenox from Kemble Street in Horse and Buggy Days

Until about 1800 Lenox Main St. wandered to the East and to the West, finally settling on approximately its current course. The entrance to town was Old Stockbridge Road with Walker St. and Kemble St. added later.

Main Street Before Route 7 and Before Bypass — Main Street Before Route 7 and Before Bypas

We have some photos of the way Main St. would have looked with first buggies – then flivers tootling down the street.

Prior to 1922 the Berkshire County north- south route was marked by blue bands on telephone poles. Beginning in the 1920’s, hotel operators and automobile clubs initiated the development of a numbering system in which this route was known as Highway 4. The Federal Government had taken over route numbering and in 1926 Highway 4 was renamed U.S. Route 7.

Until the 1949 Bypass, Hills Remained a Problem

Looking North on Main Street Toward Church on the Hill

The same topography that makes Lenox so scenic created a challenge for travelers in the form of the hill up Old Stockbridge Road (known from the 19th century shire town days as Court House Hill) and the Hill up to the Congregational Church — both of which were burdens for wagons and later trucks. This may have been one of the main reasons historic Lenox village was able to retain its old Main Street when the bypass was (per MassDOT) began in 1949.

Mid Twentieth Century Fun for Residents and Visitors Along the New Bypass

There is a great Facebook Page – You Know You’re From Lenox If.. where contributors have shared some photos from the 1960’s and 1970’s Route 7 including the Miniature Golf Course (site of the current Burger King) and favorite restaurants including the Yellow Aster (site of current Mazzeo’s)

The Yellow Aster - A Popular Route 7 Restaurant of the 1970's — The Yellow Aster – A Popular Route 7 Restaurant of the 1970’s,

How Much Expansion?

The initial bypass was controversial – some new businesses were created while others were – well – bypassed. However, the flood of tourists to Tanglewood and other summer events continued and more highway expansion was planned – and protested – and planned again. The four lane traffic flow on Route 7 from Lenox to the Pittsfield line was completed in 2000. A further expansion of four lane road was contemplated to Lanesborough. We’ll see.

See Old Route 7, Along the Berkshire Highway by Gary T. Leveille

People, People and Places, Places

Stockbridge Indian Mission

March 9, 2015 lenoxhistory

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 of the settlement of the Berkshires. The story is complex and poignant. Blog readers are particularly encouraged, on this topic, to follow up with the many fine books and other sources listed below.

Very briefly

The Mahicans*, in 1734, found themselves in a difficult situation. Part of the Algonquin linguistic group of Native Americans that extended southward from Canada, the Mahicans had formerly occupied both sides of the Hudson River and their ancestors probably had been among those who watched with amazement in 1609 as Henry Hudson sailed by. They had survived on a combination of limited agriculture and woodland hunting (see Life Berkshire Before Europeans.) By now they had been decimated by disease and changes wrought by the Europeans to their homeland. They were hemmed in by their Mohawk enemies to the west and explosive European expansion to the east. (Various spellings of the tribe’s name have been found — Mohican, Mahican, etc.)

Mahican Etow Oh Koam, known as Nicholas (18th century depiction from New York Public Library Collections) — Mahican Chief Etow Oh Koam, known as Nicholas (18th century depiction from New York Public Library Collections)

Although sentiment about Indians, even the Mahicans who had been allies of the English for several generations, was mixed, there was a group of religious leaders who felt obliged to honor what had been part of the original Puritan mission (to bring Christianity to the Native Americans). In addition, it was in the political interest of the English Colonial government to cement Indian allies in their continuing wars with the French and their Indian allies
Much of modern day Sheffield and Great Barrington had already been sold, by the Mahicans, for colonial settlement
Consequently, the royal government of Massachusetts and a missionary group agreed to purchase a tract of (est.) 9000 acres north of modern day Great Barrington to establish a mission for the Mahicans and other Native American allies. The agreement was that the Mission would include establishment of minister to teach the gospel to the Indians, a school, and settlement of four English families to lead the Mohicans in learning the ways of Christianity and English life.
The minister (John Sergeant) who agreed to launch this effort did establish a mission in 1738 and made every effort to live up to the high ideals set for the mission.

However, despite the high ideals, this agreement with Native Americans, like so many before and after, would be overwhelmed by the Europeans’ lust for land and their sense of entitlement.
The Mohicans farmed (although the men still thought of it as women’s work), converted to Christianity, went to school, and fought (and died) side by side with their English (and later American) allies. However, the also found themselves with less land or less desirable land than had originally been envisioned (because, among other things more than the four families settled).
With no source, other than the sale of their land, for exchange for rum (illegal but sold anyway) and trade goods, they sold to the colonials. The land for goods/land for currency exchanges that resulted may have allowed the colonials to feel justified in what they were doing but were, in hindsight, one sided and unfair.
An example of this one sided trading is highly relevant to the history of Lenox. In 1739, the Indians wanted some 280 acres of meadowland recently sold for 450 pounds. To obtain the meadowlands, the Indians gave up 4,000 acres to the northeast – most of present-day Lenox. The new owners of this extensive woodland included the proprietors of the mission and were: Stephen Williams, Samuel Hopkins, Neimiah Bull, John Sergeant, , Timothy Woodbridge, Ephraim Williams, and John Stoddard’s nephew Jonathan Edwards. Ephraim Williams acquired 900 acres plus a 130 acre pond, Bull 700 acres, and the remainder approximately 480 acres each. (Some pretty sharp Yankee dealing for a bunch of missionaries.)
Eventually, the Stockbridge Indians found themselves with more and more mouths to feed on less and less land. In 1780, many accepted the invitation of their Oneida cousins to resettle in upstate New York and stayed their long enough for their tales to influence James Fenimore Cooper to write The Last of the Mohicans. The modern day Stockbridge Indians are to be found in Wisconsin where they remain one of only a few tribes that have retained their pre-colonial identity.

See:

To Live Upon Hope, Mohicans and Missionaries in the Eighteenth Century Northeast by Rachel Wheeler

The Mohican World, 1680-1750 by Shirley W. Dunn

Lenox Massachusetts, Shiretown by David Wood