The Four Wars Fought in 17th and 18th Century North America Concerned, Among Other Things, Who Would Control the Northern United States
All four of the French and Indian Wars were fought before the settlement of Lenox.
However they are part of the Lenox story since the wars:
-continued the fear of Indian/ Canadian raids that delayed settlement of remote areas such as the Berkshires
-by the end of the four wars the practice of using Indians as allies to be played against each other and the enemy largely ceased
-demonstrated the importance of the colonies in international trade and prestige
-involved substantial resources and manpower in New England (the families of early Lenox settlers and the Stockbridge Indians may have participated in fighting in northern New York, Nova Scotia, and the Great Lakes)
-cost Great Britain a great deal which resulted in new taxes and duties that contributed to the 1775 Revolution of the British Colonies
-although key territories (in treaties) and fortified holdings (Fort Duquense – modern day Pittsburgh, Detroit, Fort Ticonderoga), changed hands (several times), the 85 year period ended with a major power shift to the British in North America now including most of the territory south of the Great Lakes and East of the Mississippi
All four involved a European dynastic/balance of power war. The fourth (the one people may be thinking of when they say “French and Indian War”) was the one that was the most driven by Colonial issues and received the most support from the respective mother countries. In the earlier wars, the Colonials were largely on their own and an after thought to the European theatre (hence the reference below to “Intercolonial” wars. and the size of the color bars below.
The clear, drinkable water we get from our taps is easy to take for granted. Lenox is fortunate to live in a region with plentiful water, but that doesn’t mean it has been easy to meet the town’s ever growing demand for water. Lenox has faced many of the same challenges as the rest of New England in keeping with the growing demand for water.
History of Water Access in New England
Not only does New England have plentiful rainfall, but it has fast moving rivers and streams with steep drops – making for – if untouched – clear, pure water from streams and lakes.
Hauling Water – Usually Wasn’t Done by a Dapper Gentleman in Jeans
Consequently, most early settlers in Lenox – and elsewhere in the new world – would have gotten their water from naturally occurring sources. Access to clean water was one of the reasons for the rapid population growth in the early days of the colonies.
As settlers moved further from open water sources, springs would have been tapped or wells dug. As had been done since the Middle Ages, water was transported by taking advantage of natural elevation or elevation created by wind or hand powered pumps. At first wooden pipes were used then iron pressure pipes starting in the mid 19th century. Extensive piping and pumping would have been limited to wealthier homeowners. And in fact, most early water systems were private and provided no guarantee of water for everyone. Hauling water from a shared well or cistern (as still happens in the third world) would have been common.
From Any Water Will Do to Potable
Because of low population density and the often fast moving water cited above, the Berkshires may have had less water borne illness than other areas in the 18th and 19th centuries. However, as we now know, water that looks clear can still contain killer bacteria. In 1854 Dr. John Snow deduced that water carried cholera by gathering data on the victims of the disease in a London neighborhood. His research showed disease concentration around a particular public well. By the 1880’s Robert Koch had closed the logic loop by showing that microorganisms in water could transmit cholera, typhoid, gastrointestinal distress and other illnesses.
Soldiers have been told to place their latrines downstream since the Romans. With the development of germ theory the importance of keeping wastewater separate from drinking water had increased. Unfortunately, disposing of waste water in rivers and lakes continued. And, industrial waste became a more common contributor to wastewater run off. The earliest treatment was by running waste water through sand or aerating.
Chlorine had been used to kill these micro-organisms as early as 1847 (in Vienna, Austria). Its use became common in US water systems in the early 20th century. By the mid 20th century chemical pollutants had been identified as a threat – even to well water- and standards for drinking water became more stringent (Federal Clean Water Acts 1970, 1974??)
The combination of the growing importance of purifying drinking water and increased demand made systematic sourcing, treatment and distribution a critical civic function by the beginning of the 20th century.
Water Demand
Before there was disease theory, there was suspicion of water as a drink, so, but there was still need for water for washing, cooking and putting out fires. By the late 19th century, household plumbing (including bathtubs and flush toilets) had started to become common in wealthier homes, causing a spike in per household consumption at about the same time population growth was accelerating.
In addition manufacturing had become a major water user.
While demand was increasing, supply was stressed by:
industrial run off and household sewage was despoiling lakes and rivers
timber clearing increased run off
the readily accessible water sources had been tapped.
The costs of projects to both source and purify drinking water and treat wastewater (to ever higher standards) have made water access, transport and treatment one of the largest expenses of towns, cities and states. Historically, these massive investments have been resisted until forced to deal with a water crisis.
Lenox Water System Initially Private
In 1874, Julius Rockwell, William O. Curtis, Thomas Post and Associates formed a private water company. The initial water system consisted of Woolsey Reservoir #1, Aspinwall Reservoir and a distribution system.
With considerable foresight this private water company bought up watershed – bit by bit, and continuously expanded reservoirs; both by building new resevoirs and increasing dam height on existing reservoirs. The details are nice documented by retired Lenox DPW head Jeff Vincent below in “History of Lenox Water System Facilities.”.
Lenox was fairly typical of water systems of the day in serving a limited % the population. Although Mr. Rockwell, Curtis and Post were all permanent Lenox residents, it may have been the needs of the water hungry (presumable early adopters of indoor plumbing) cottagers that kick started the project.
Lenox was somewhat unique in
having still had untouched watershed available
having its needs met from multiple sources (in the 1900’s the Lenox Dale distribution system was a separate private company with water supplied from the Town of Lee and in 1957 when it was a town-owned system
Some the expansion projects (as was common elsewhere) may have been triggered by water shortages:
1879-1880 – drought
1908-1911 – drought
1913 – water shortage
1910’s – Laurel Lake used for emergency water supply
..and after the town bought the private water company in 1947
1957 – drought
1963 – drought
1965 – drought, pumped from Laurel Lake
1980 – severe drought emptied Upper Reservoir; town dredged to increase capacity but still had to pump water from Stockbridge Bowl all winter
1981-1982 – continued dry conditions and pumping from Stockbridge Bowl
From Private to Town Owned
As noted above, the Town of Lenox bought out the private Lenox Water Company. The town funded the purchase price of $173,000 as well as $60,000 for improvements to the distribution system. In 1956, 26,000 feet of water lines were turned over to Lenox by the City of Pittsfield. The West Street booster pump station was constructed to raise the gradient in Lenox center and to increase the flow from the reservoirs. The first major new reservoir since 1891 was completed in 1959. In 1985, a moratorium had to be called on new connections to the town’s water distribution system.
In 1985, a special town meeting appropriated close to $6MM for the town’s share of the Washington Mountain Watershed Project which included a water treatment plant, storage tank, water transmission plan, transmission main and a water treatment plant for the existing Root Reservoir. In 1995 the town installed a pump station on New Lenox Road to increase the amount of water that can be taken from the City of Pittsfield. In 2005 work was completed on the Upper and Lower Root Reservoirs. This enhanced the safety of the dams but did not increase storage capacity.
The Future
The demand for water in Lenox is not expected to decline. Full-time population growth is currently slow but tourism remains the town’s major industry and brings in more and more summer guests. In addition, the many 100+ year old pipes incur waste. The current reservoirs are at capacity which is somewhat of a moot point since there is no additional run off anticipated from the watershed.
Resources for wells or other water sourcing will have to compete for funds with the investments needed to meet heightened standards for waste water treatment.
Lenox is not unusual in facing challenges in meeting water demand and satisfactorily treating its wastewater.
Many thanks to Jeff Vincent and Rich Fiuore for information on the Lenox Water System
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 distinctly religious orientation of early Massachusetts government lingered until 1824 religious tolerance acts and the 1832 Constitution.
Starting with the 1620 Plymouth covenant, religion colored Massachusetts law.
Town Development Based Partly on Worship
One of the reasons New England towns were small was so families could walk to required church services. As was the case in Lenox, the meeting house was part of initial town development and was used for both religious and civic meetings. As of 1647, towns were also required to teach reading and arithmetic (so all could read the Bible) Local revenues supported the one (Puritan/Congregational) Church and Church membership was a requirement for voting. The Puritans not only excluded the Church of England but persecuted Quakers, Anabaptists – and Catholics – fagetetaboutit.
and the English attitude was pretty much good riddance. The colonists fought the Pequot War in the 1630’s with no help, so, it must have been a shock when the mother country suddenly began making itself felt economically with the Navigation Acts of the 1660’s which restricted trade to England and English vessels. King Phillip’s War (another Native American War in the 1670’s) was also fought with little help from England and it devastated Massachusetts. In a pattern that would be repeated later, England was looking for revenue at just the time when Boston merchants had the least to give.
Secularism and the Salem Witch Trials
The colonists refused to enforce these new laws and the Massachusetts Charter was revoked in 1684. Neither Charles II or his brother James II had any great love for the Puritans who had beheaded their father. So it’s not surprising that new charters kept the hammer down economically but also began the walk back from government sanctioned Puritan religious intolerance.
Massachusetts Revolted Against Sir Edmond Andros
With the New Englander’s refusal to enforce the Navigation Acts, James moved on to a new charter that further restricted local government. The 1686 Dominion of New England merged the British territories from Delaware Bay to Penobscot Bay under a royal governor –Sir Edmund Andros who was especially hated in Massachusetts. He enforced the unpopular Navigation Acts, vacated land titles, restricted town meetings, and appropriated a Puritan meeting house for Church of England services. A Boston revolt deposed Andros in 1689 and the Dominion was voided.
Increase Mather (son of Richard, father of Cotton) and others traveled to London to petition the new rulers, William and Mary, to restore the old charter. But fearing religious rule, William refused. Instead , management was turned over to the Lords of Trade, religious tolerance was required and royal governors were appointed rather than elected.
Salem Witch Trials Contributed to the End of Puritan Rule
It is speculated that the end of Puritan rule truly ended with the Salem witch trials in 1692. To the Lords of Trade it looked like the worst possible outcome from a theocracy.
Hard to Tell from This Rendering, But Metacom Considered a 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 known by the English, was chief of the Wampanoag in southeastern Massachusetts. Apparently a charismatic personality, Metacom was able to leverage seething resentments.
The spark that set off the war was Metacom’s contention that the English had murdered his brother. The underlying causes were the Indian’s fear of the never ending pressure to sell their land (a concept which was more English than Indian anyway) and increased dependence on trade goods from the new comers.
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 American Life in Massachusetts After European Contact – Pequot War ) and then up the Connecticut River Valley. The settlement of the Connecticut River Valley is interesting background for the settling of Lenox – both for what the two have in common and what they don’t.
Connecticut River Valley Was the Bread Basket of New England
The Connecticut River Valley was the bread basket of New England and unlike many other areas of Massachusetts (including Lenox) could support raising single crops for export.
The Fertile Connecticut River Valley
As with many other towns (see The Unique Nature of New England Towns) Springfield and the other Massachusetts towns along the Connecticut River were established by wealthy individuals who planned to make profit based on later increased land values.
Springfield Settlement Driven by William Pynchon
The settlement of the area from Springfield to Northampton was distinguished by the outsize role of a single man – William Pynchon.
William Pynchon
Pynchon, who had been a relatively wealthy man in England, had explored the Connecticut River and established a lucrative fur business. With the agreement of the Massachusetts Bay Company, he purchased major acerage in the valley. What would become Springfield, was purchased from the Indians in 1635, and was initially part of Connecticut, but William Pynchon, decided to affiliate with the Massachusetts Bay colony. The inhabitants were also somewhat unique in that more of them were renters than in other towns where families tended to own land. A majority were actually employees of the Pynchon family. In 1640 the name was changed from the Indian name, Agawam, to Springfield in honor of Pynchon’s home town in England.
Settlements Up the River More Typical
By 1682, towns all the way up to Deerfield were settled with a similar pattern (some elements would survive to the later settlement of Berkshire County):
Purchase of land from Indians (for modest exchange of trade goods and wampum) and, in many cases, a change from the Indian place name
Original investment by “town fathers” (disproportionately the Pynchon family in the Connecticut River Valley) who would make decisions much like a modern board of directors
Authorization to settle (and sell unsold lands) if certain conditions met (typically a survey, plot plans with lots of acceptable size lots, set asides for support of a minister and school, settlement by 40-60 households, (including clearing and fencing the land) establishment of a meeting house a safe house or fort, etc.)
Lay led Church services until a town had accumulated the 50 or so families needed to support a minister.
These “plantations” would also be expected to organize a militia, elect town officials and make arrangements for schooling – often involving clergy.
Hampden County (Which Included the Berkshires) 1662
These frontier towns also needed to quickly establish court systems and the largest towns would have magistrates and law offices. Hampshire County ( which included the Berkshires in those early days) was established in 1662 with court sessions rotating between Northampton and Springfield)
Pynchon reportedly explored the far western part of the state but development stalled for almost 200 years at the western edge of the Connecticut River due to
Fear of hostile Indians (Springfield and Deerfield were raided)
Border disputes with first the Dutch and then the royal English colony of New York
A slowdown in population growth with an end to the “Great Migration” (in about 1640)
Better alternatives for farming still available in the colony
Dense, hilly woodlands with limited (Housatonic) water access.
See:
History of Western Massachusetts. The Counties of Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire, Josiah Gilbert Holland, Published by Samuel Bowles and Company, Springfield, MA 1855 (Internet Archive Project)
Wikipedia “History of Pioneer Valley, ” 2014
Profits in the Wilderness, Entrpreneurship and the Founding of New England Towns in the Seventeenth Century, by John Frederic Martin, The Omohundro Instituute of Early American History and Culture, Williamsburg, Virginia by the University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill & London, 1991
American History 1690-1740 Provincial America, by Evarts Boutelle Greene
New England’s Generation, The Great Migration and the Formation of Culture and Society in the Seventeenth Century, Virginia DeJohn Anderson, Cambridge University Press, 1991
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 New England
The Studio, Built in 1930, Designed by George Sanderson of Boston
After building the studio in 1930, George and Suzy had the house, designed by John Butler Swann of Stockbridge, built in 1940-1942. It was inspired by Le Corbusier at which George had studied in Paris.
The Modernism it exemplified was wildly at odds with the gracefully (sometimes not so gracefully) decaying Lenox mansions from the Gilded Age. However it was consistent with the couple’s immersion in abstract art. Continue reading Modernism Shocks the Berkshires of the 1930’s→
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 roots to this hearty group of emigrants.
The Beginning and Then the End of Puritan Persecution in England
Who were these emigrants and why did they come? John Winthrop organized a fleet of ships to transport the emigrants, but it was a reflection of individual households making similar decisions – not an organized group. The emigrants included indentured servants and household servants but the decision makers were primarily farmers and merchants who could generate enough capital, generally by selling their holdings in England, to pay for passage and enough supplies for the passage and a year in the new land. Also carpenters (Joiners), tanners and other skilled trades were in great demand and could sometimes get their passage paid.
Three quarters of the emigrants to New England were not members of the Puritan church but the Puritan beliefs characterized the group. The time of the migration coincides with the height of the persecution of the Puritans under Charles I and ends with the outbreak of the Civil War that ended the reign and the life of Charles I. The beginning of the exodus coincides with the dissolution of Parliament in 1629. Although the ostensible purpose for the emigration was to escape religious persecution, it was undoubtedly also a hope for better economic opportunities. In England population growth had exploded without any great increase in agricultural productivity and the primary industry, wool, had been seriously hindered by the 30 years war in Europe. In addition, Charles I was warring with Scotland (and looking for the money to pay for it) at the same time he (and his Catholic wife) were warring with the Presbyterians of Scotland and the Puritans of England.
Unique Characteristics
From Southeastern England to Massachusetts
Many came from East Anglia and other parts of southeastern England (thought by some to be the source of the distinctive New England dropped “r”) and the majority were from market towns – often involved in textile trade and in local government. The farmers among them were generally landowners (hence the ability to sell for the cash needed for passage and supplies). Almost all were families with most of the single adults being servants. They were unique among emigrants to the New World in:
being almost universally literate (importance place on being able to read Scripture)
moving as families – an often with kinship groups (in-laws, cousins, etc.)
a range of ages (generally heads of household ranging from young to late middle age plus children)
experienced in self-government and business
having cashed in all or most of what they had on the bet that opportunity would be better in the new land
homogeneous in religious believes and background.
And, like most other emigrants of the era, self selected to be healthy enough to survive the arduous voyage and difficult first several years. Also, like other emigrant groups of the era, there was a great premium on creating your own labor force combined with cleaner water and less crowded living conditions. The result was remarkably large families. For all of these family members to find adequate farm average they had to further migrate north and west – often to the Connecticut or later Housatonic River Valleys. Hence, many descendants spread over the early Massachusetts settlements, some of whom would find their way to Lenox.
Just to illustrate a couple of Lenox settlers with ties to this “Great Migration” (data from Ancestry.com public family trees):
Lenox Descendents
Jonathan Hinsdale (first known settler of Lenox) – was born in Hartford, apparently the great grandson of Robert Hinsdale, born 1617 in Dedham, Essex, England and who died in 1675 at Bloody Brook (near Deerfield) – part of the hostilities of King Phillip’s war. Jonathan apparently came from a long-line of risk takers..from England to an unsettled area (Deerfield) and to an unsettled area again (Lenox).
Israel Dewey (an important member of the initial purchasers of Lenox open land in 1762) was the great-great grandson of Thomas Dewey born 1606 in Sandwich, Kent, England. Thomas Dewey apparently moved at least once after landing as he died in 1748 in Windsor, CT. The various locations of his parents, grandparents, etc. suggests Israel came from a long line of real estate entrepreneurs – his grandfather, Thomas Dewey, was among the original settlers of the Berkshires coming from Westfield to Sheffield. And, indeed, Israel him self would die, not in Lenox, but in Vermont in a another new community he had participated in launching.
And, of course, Grenville Winthrop, an important part time resident who lived at the current BUTA campus on West Street was a ninth generation descendent of John Winthrop.
See:
New England’s Greatest Generation, The Great Migration and The Formation of Society and Culture in the Seventeenth Century, by Virginia DeJohn Anderson, Cambridge University Press, 1991
Ancestry.com – public member family trees
Daily Life in Colonial New England, by Claudia Durst Johnson, Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series, 2002
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 the late 19th century.
We will learn more about Oliver’s family in subsequent entries. But, to begin, here’s a snapshot of his situation in 1861 when he started the diary donated to the Lenox Library.
O.W. Osborn’s Situation in 1861
He owned a small farm at the corner of Housatonic and East St. (across from what is now Lenox Memorial High School). According to the 1860 census, his real estate was valued at $1,000 and his personal estate at $300. He had lost his infant son in 1858 and his wife (more on this in subsequent posts) in 1859 and lived with his two daughters Mary (age 12) and Thalia (age 11). His father, mother and brother lived just down the road.
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 1734, the Native American population in Massachusetts was all but gone. What happened? A losing battle against European pathogens and European land hunger.
Smallpox Epidemic
In 1617-1619 a smallpox epidemic had swept through the original inhabitants of Massachusetts wiping out – by some estimates – as much as 90% of the population. The only thing that might have spared the Native Americans of the Berkshires would have been their limited contact with Europeans.
This now sparse native population plus a Puritan commitment to christianize the Indians, kept relations largely peaceful until 1638 and the Pequot wars.
Early Peace Followed by Unequal War
Pequot Fort at Mystic
By 1638 the English settlers (Puritan and otherwise) had found their way to what is now Boston, Provincetown, Long Island and New Haven. Despite the handsome fort pictured above, the Pequots were massacred by the combined English and Mahican forces,
