BC 400000000

Formation of New England

400 MM years ago - Continents that would become Europe and Africa collided with North America and pulled apart to form the Appalchian Mountains and the Connecticut and Hudson River Valleys

BC 20000

Ice Age Scours New England

 

Sequential ice ages with glaciers several miles deep scoured the New England landscape for thousands of years

 

BC 15000

Earliest Migration to North America

15,000 to 7,000 BC - Most commonly accepted theory is that first inhabitants of North America followed game over the Bering Strait land bridge (ice would have lowered sea levels by 200-300 feet)

BC 3000

Earliest Human Settlement in the Berkshires

3000-1000 B.C. - In an archaeological dig near Stockbridge (Kampoosa Bog) evidence was found of Indians from the Hudson River Valley hunting seasonally.  This would have been about the same time as Ramses II of Egypt.

1000

Vikings in Canada

1000

Vikings thought to have settled briefly in Canada (Newfoundland) circa 1000 A.D.  Anse Meadows site in Newfoundland shown here.

1453

The Age of Exploration Increases Trips West

1453

The fall of Constantinople in 1453 forced Europeans to seek new trade routes.  At the same time the availability of a new type of ship (the carousel) enhanced blue water sailing and touched off European journeys to the West - some of which are known to have touched down on the New England coastline.

1609

Henry Hudson Sails Near the Berkshires

1609

It is doubtful Henry Hudson, who sailed as far north as Albany, would have touched the Berkshires, but word certainly would have spread among the natives about "The Great White Bird," -- as well as smallpox from the European sailors.

1617

Smallpox Epidemic Wipes our Native Population

1617

1617-1619 - A smallpox  epidemic wiped out as much as 90% of the native population in Massachusetts before the pilgrims arrived.

1620

Landing at Plymouth

1620-12-20

Although explorers had touched down before, a small group of Pilgrims -- most from Yorkshire- were the first permanent settlers in Massachusetts

1630

The Great Migration

1630

 

1630-1642 - Under increasing religious persecution, about 20,000 men, women and children from East Anglia came to what is now the Boston area. The first "fleet" was organized by John Winthrop who became governor.  At the time Lenox was formed, most residents would have traced their linage to this group of early settlers. The migration came to an end with the English Civil War that ended in the beheading of Charles I.

1635

Early Settlements - CT River Valley

1635

Shown here - William Pynchon, merchant and early settler and the Connecticut River Valley -- considered the "breadbasket" of New England.

Population grew rapidly and settlers moved west along the Connecticut shore and up the fertile Connecticut River Valley. Springfield (founded 1635) was unusual in that many of the original settlers were Pynchon employees. In other towns entrepreneurs often bought up land and sold it to form the classical New England towns surrounding Church/ meeting house.

1636

Pequot War Ends Peaceful Relations with Indians

1636

Tribes in southeastern New England in 1638 shown here.

1636-1638 - Peacful relations with the Indians came to an end with European massacres of the Pequot tribe in southern Connecticut and Massachusetts.

1675

King Phillip's War

1675

1675-1676 King Phillip's War - Actually not a king but an Indian chief - Metacom. Significant as the last war in New England initiated by the Indians (not their European allies) and as a setback to further European settlement to the north and west.  Indian attacks threatened Springfield and lead to temporary abandonment of Deerfield.

 

1688

King William's War

1688

 

1688-1692 - The first of four wars in which French and their Iriquois allies raided New England as a minor part of a larger European War. As with the four wars that followed, New Englanders played an active role in invasions of French territory by sea and through northern New England and New York.

1691

New Massachusetts Charter

1691

The royal efforts to assert authority over Massachusetts led to a new charter in 1691 which included an appointed royal governor  (Sir William Phips was the first) and a bi-carmel house similar to the government of the other royal provinces.  Massachusetts had to give up Maine and New Hampshire.  They later purchased back Maine but New Hampshire became an independent colony.

1692

Salem Witch Trials Sped Transition to Secular Government

1692

The Salem Witch Trials horrified the new secular government and ended nostalgia for religious rule

1702

Queen Anne's war

1702

 

1702-1713 - Continued Indian raids in New England instigated by the French resulted in the second near destruction of Deerfield in 1704 although the primary theatre of operations was Nova Scotia and Maine.

1725

Settlement Begins with Sheffield

1725

 

In 1725 Mathew Noble of Westfield wended his way through the forest (along something like modern RT 23) to settle in what would become Sheffield

1738

Stockbridge Mission

1738

John Sargeant agrees to lead a mission to educate and Christianize the Mohicans who are to be given land in what would become Stockbridge.

1743

Poontusuc

1743

In 1743 a group of potential property owners began clearing the heavily wooded area that would become Pittsfield but abandoned their properties several times due to the threat of French, Indian raids. Many who left would go on to defend Fort Massachusetts.

1744

King George's War

1744

1744-1748 - Upstate New York (Saratoga was raided) and the borders of Northern New England were the focus of the North American theatre in this war. Massachusetts residents attempted unsuccessfully (without help from the regular British army)  to defend Fort Massachusetts (modern day North Adams - replica of the fort shown here.)

1751

First Lenox Settler - Jonathan Hinsdale

1751

Shortly joined by other families, Jonathan Hinsdale of Hartford, CT. moved to what would become Lenox.  The location of his first home and tavern is marked by a plaque on Old Stockbridge Road just south of Hawthorne St.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1753

Seven Years War

1753

1753-1763 - The Seven Year's War (so called because it didn't officially begin until 1758) started in North America  in an incident involving George Washington (shown here in his British uniform) . The war resulted in the British winning Canada and the current mainland to the Mississippi. Part of the treaty ending the war was a directive that there would be no Colonial settlement west of the Appalachians.  This edict became one of many causes of the American Revolution stemming from this war. 

1755

Flight to Stockbridge

1755

In fear of an Indian raid (really just an outlaw) residents from what would become Lenox north fled to the relative safety of Stockbridge. Although this incident was a false alarm, the fear of Indian raids was a major brake on development of Massachusetts west of the Berkshires.

1760

George III Becomes King

1760

 

When he ascended the throne the king who was to oversee the loss of the thirteen American colonies was only 22 years old.  He went on to reign for 59 years -- one of England's longest reigning monarchs.

 

 

1761

Formation of Berkshire County

1761-04-24

Anxious to establish a border with the New York colony and to generate revenue from land sales, Governor Francis Bernard separated the western half of Hampshire County to form Berkshire County (named for his birth county in England).

1763

End of the Last French and Indian War

1763-02-10

The Treaty of Paris granted Canada and North America East of the Mississippi to the British and prohibited English settlement West of the Appalachians.

Sale of Lot # 8

1763-02-17

Unincorporated lands in Berkshire County were auctioned.  The roughly 23,000 acres of Lot # 8 (today's Richmond and Lenox) were initially sold to Josiah Dean for 2250 pounds but, after title disputes, were finally sold to Samuel Brown, Jr. of Stockbridge and a group of investors for an additional 650 pounds. 

1764

Mount Ephraim and Yokuntown Proprietors Meeting

1764-04-17

The first proprietors meeting was held in what would become Richmond

1765

Stamp Act

1765-03-22

The Stamp Act was one of a series of attempts by the Lords of Trade to cover the costs of maintaining a standing army in North America.  With a bit of tea party foreshadowing, colonists protested in writing and with merchandise (above).  The act was repealed a year later and turned out to be a rehearsal for even more well organized colonial protests to follow.

 

1766

Petition to Split Lot 8

1766-07-06

Mt. Ephraim and Yokuntown (Richmond and Lenox) petitioned the General Court to be allowed to incorporate as two towns in recognition of the mountain range running through Lot #8.  

1767

From Lot #8 to Two Towns

1767-02-26

The petition to split Lot 8 was accepted by the General Court.  The two towns had taken the names they carry today from Charles Lennox (the second "n" got lost somewhere in transcription), the 3rd Duke of Richmond.  He was admired by colonists for speaking for their point of view in the House of Lords.

First Lenox Town Meeting

1767-03-05

The first meeting to discuss the newly created town of Lenox was held at Israel Dewey's house and tavern (site of 7 Hubbard St. - The Birchwood Inn).

1769

The First Meeting House

1769-07-26

Lenox voted to appropriate funds to build a meeting house on land "sequestered" by Rev. Peter Reynolds - near the current Church on the Hill.  Later town votes indicate the building was still in progress in 1770 when Rev. Samuel Monson was called to preach.

1770

Boston Massacre

1770-03-05

In addition to attempting (unsuccessfully) to extract revenue from the colonists, Parliament expected the colonists to quarter the standing army they now maintained in Boston and elsewhere in the colonies.  Although it's not clear who fired first, tensions had risen to the point where rock throwing civilians led quickly to shots from armed soldiers.

1772

Committees of Correspondence

1772

Samuel Adams organized Committees of Correspondence in which towns - and colonies - agreed to keep each other informed and to coordinate their protests against Parliamentary taxation and abrogation of colonial laws and privileges.

1773

Townsend Duties and the Tea Tax

1773-05-10

Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townsend kept trying to come up with creative ways to generate revenues from the colonies.  Like many in the inner circles of government, he failed to recognize  the growing anger and focused protest these policies were generating. Most of the Townsend duties were repealed--except for the tax on tea.

Boston Tea Party

1773-12-10

 

Although tea dumping - in protest of the tax levied on tea - occurred elsewhere, the most famous occurrence was in Boston harbor.

 

 

1774

Intolerable Acts

1774-03-31

In reaction to the Boston Tea Party, Parliament enacted what the colonists called "The Intolerable Acts," which included closing the port of Boston, overriding the elected chamber of the colony's government, limiting town meetings and requiring colonists to accept judges appointed by the royal governor.

Berkshire Convention in Stockbridge

1774-07-06

John Patterson, William Walker and others from Lenox gathered with the rest of the county at the Red Lion Inn (Bingham's Tavern at the time) to agree on language and actions for a non-importation agreement--boycotting trade from Britain.

 

Great Barrington Court Protests

1774-08-16

Fifteen hundred unarmed men from Berkshire County and Litchfield County,  CT., rallied to shut down the county court meeting in Great Barrrington in protest of judges appointed by the unrecognized royal government.

Lenox Signs Non-Importation Agreement

1774-10-10

More than 100 residents of the frontier town of Lenox agreed to boycott British goods (along with towns across the colonies).  The highly organized protest was effective at blocking trade, but its impact was truncated by the active fighting touched off by British raids on Lexington and Concord.

1775

Shot Heard Round the World

1775-04-19

 Very shortly after the first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired in Lexington and Concord, an express rider delivered the news and Lenox's minute men marched off to Boston.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1775

Battle of Bunker Hill

1775-06-17

Although the colonials did not gain ground, in the first major battle of the war, Bunker (Breeds) Hill is often considered an American victory because of the British lives lost and the fierce American defense.  John Paterson and the Lenox minutemen manned Charleston Heights during this battle.

1776

Henry Knox Crosses the Berkshires

1776-01-09

Henry Knox dragged cannons from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston crossing the Berkshires from Claverack, New York.   The artillery was instrumental in forcing the British to evacuate Boston in March 1776.

 

Paterson Departs for Canada

1776-04-13

After the British evacuation of Boston, Paterson was sent to reinforce Benedict Arnold's retreating army.

 

Smallpox Innoculation

1776-05-05

Benedict Arnold writes that it would be good to inoculate Gen. Patrson's troops as advised by Dr. Timothy Childs of Pittsfield.  A major smallpox epidemic went on throughout the Revolution.

Washington Surprises the Hessians at Trenton

1776-12-24

General Paterson joined Washington along with 220 of the 600 Berkshire men who had left for Canada in April.

1777

Surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga

1777-10-07

The defeat of Burgoyne was a major turning point for the colonials.  The Berkshires were well represented with a unit of militia under Parson Allen of Pittsfield the first to arrive at Bennington and John Paterson leading the Battle of Bemis Heights.

 

 

 

1778

Battle of Monmouth

1778-06-28

This relief from the Battle of Monmouth Monument shows Gen. Paterson sitting opposite George Washington at the pre-battle council.

1780

Hardship at Home

1780

Inflation and shortages were terrible for the civilians left at home as well as the soldiers.  By 1780 the dollars issued by the Continental Congress were worth only 1% of their face value.

 

Massachusetts State Constitution

1780-06-15

The first Massachusetts state constitution was written largely by John Adams and informed the structure of the U.S. Constitution which was to be written eight years later.  William Walker represented Lenox in the discussions.

Betrayal of Benedict Arnold

1780-09-20

 

The capture of British Major John Andre (pictured) revealed Arnold's treason.   Arnold escaped but Andre did not.  Gen. Paterson participated in his trial.

1781

Surrender at Yorktown

1781-10-19

The surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, VA did not end the war but made victory inevitable.

1782

Lenox Chosen as County Seat

1782-09-01

 

The first courthouse (pictured) wasn't completed until 1791,  but Lenox remained the county seat until 1867.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1783

Lenox Dale Furnace

1783-06-09

The Tucker MS reports 500 acres of the Larabee Grant (encompassing modern day Lenox Dale) being granted to Charles Goodrich of Pittsfield.  The earliest date of a furnace operating is listed as 1783.  At the time, the operation was apparently owned by Job Gilbert of Bistol, MA.

Treaty of Paris Ends Revolutionary War

1783-09-03

In signing the Treaty of Paris the British opened the area of west of the Appalachians to American settlement and agreed to remove British troops.  The British signers refused to sit for their part of the famous portrait shown here.

1787

Northwest Ordinance

1787

 The Continental Congress formalized settlement of the  Ohio River Valley and the midwest.  The ordinance proscribed land division, schools and the conditions for statehood.  Many Lenox families would end up with descendants in Ohio.

Lenox Dale Furnace Syndicataion

1787-02-15

William Walker gathered subscriptions from 51 Lenox and Lee residents to buy out the furnace--an illustration of the early transition to manufacturing and a money-based economy.

Shay's Rebellion Ends in Sheffield

1787-02-27

By 1787 the rebels had failed in their assault on the arsenal at Springfield, in their attempt to shut down the courts in Great Barrington, and in a raid on Stockbridge, Major Ashley and General Patterson fought the last action against them (noted in the marker shown here) in Sheffield.  Later in the year two men (who may have just been burglars) were hung in Lenox for their role in the rebellion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1789

US Constitution Signed in Philadelphia

1789-09-17

Shay's Rebellion heightened awareness of the inadequacy of the Articles of Confederation.  Eleven states ratified the Constitution in March 1789; George Washington was inaugurated as the first President two months later.

 

 

 

1803

Lenox Academy

1803

Pupils came from as far away as Georgia to attend the Lenox Academy (pictured here) which would have been a great source of pride to this small town.

Louisiana Purchase

1803-04-30

The Louisiana Purchase added all of part of what would become 15 states at a cost of about 4 cents/acre. The new territories made both sides of the Mississippi attractive to land-hungry New Englanders.

1805

Church on the Hill

1805

The new Federalist style church replaced the earlier meeting house nearby.  It is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Second Great Awakening

1805

A revival meeting was held this year in Lenox.  It was part of a more populist religious movement that began shortly after the revolution. The direct result in Lenox was incorporation of the Methodist Church in Lenox in 1811; church at the corner of Church and Franklin dedicated 1834.

1815

New Courthouse

1815

Lenox was the county seat until 1868. Being the home of the county's lawyers and judges contributed to Lenox's early culture.  After the court was moved to Pittsfield, the former courthouse became the Sedgewick Library.

1819

First Depression

1819

1825

Erie Canal Completed

1825-10-26

By opening a route from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic via the Hudson River, the Erie Canal made New York City  a trading capital and provided a way to the Ohio River Valley, Illinois and Michigan for land hungry New Englanders.

1830

Shaker Communities

1830

 

The Shakers, an offshoot of the Quakers, established Hancock Shaker Village (now open to the public) in 1791 under the leadership of "Mother" Ann Lee.  At its peak 1820-1840, Shakerism was consistent with the overall religious revival.

 

 

1838

First Rail Service to Lenox

1838

Great Western Steamer Crosses Atlantic

1838

The Great Western steamer crosses the Atlantic in under 16 days; an interesting comparison to the three-four months it would have taken at the rime of the Revolutionary War.

1844

Telegraph

1844

Samuel Gray Ward Builds Highwood

1844-03

Samuel Gray Ward was of the new international class of Americans, involved in investment banking, the arts, and the first --others would follow- of a group of wealthy Boston families seeking rustic culture in the Berkshires.

1850

Hawthorne in Lenox

1850-05

After completing "The Scarlet Letter," Hawthorne moved his family to a simple (and cold) Berkshire farmhouse on Stockbridge bowl.  He lived here until November 1851 and, while here, interacted with Herman Melville, Fanny Kemble, the Sedgewicks -- and wrote "The House of the Seven Gables," and "The Wonder Book".

 

1851

Moby Dick

1851

Herman Melville moved his family to Pittsfield (Arrowhead - now open to the public) in August 1850.  He had almost finished "Moby Dick" by the time he settle here, but after discussing the symbolism of "The Scarlet Letter" with Hawthorne, he re-wrote it completely and published the next year.

1853

Lenox Dale Adds Glass Works

1853

By the end of the 19th century the manufacturing complex in Lenox Dale would have tried to use the water power and furnace available to them to make iron (from the ore dug up under the town and Lenox Mountain), glass and paper.  By the end of the 19th century, they also would have found that other areas had the power and transport ion to do all more efficiently.

1858

Transatlantic Cable

1858-08-16

Cyrus West Field (born in Stockbridge, MA in 1819) led effort to lay transatlantic cable that reduced the time to transmit communications across the Atlantic from ten days to minutes.

1869

Transcontinental Railroad Opened

1869-05-10

The meeting of the Union Pacific and the Southern Pacific at Promintory Point Utah not only opened the market for western commodities and trade, but demonstrated a new scale in construction and manufacturing.

 

 

Westinghouse Air Brake Co. Organized

1869-07

George Westinghouse would go on to build the Niagara Falls generators, form General Electric and produce numerous other inventions that contributed to the age of electricity.  He also built and lived in Erskine Park, destroyed and replaced by Foxhollow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1886

President Chester Arthur - New Trinity Dedication

1886

 

Chester Arthur would have been the ex-President by this time and Frederick Freylinghuysen, who lived across the street at what is now the Kemble Inn, had been his Secretary of State.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elm Court Built

1886

William Douglas Sloan built Elm Court between 1886 and 1900.  His brother John built Wyndhurst (now Cranwell)  in 1892.

Great Barrington Electrified

1886-03-20

William Stanley, Jr. invented the transformer and electrified downtown Great Barrington to demonstrate the safety of the transformer and the use of alternating current (AC).  He made Pittsfield an Age of Electricity equivalent to today's Silicon Valley.  Stanley Electric merged with Westinghouse to form General Electric.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1889

President Cleveland - Dedication of Sedgewick Hall

1889

 It is not that surprising that he was willing to participate in dedication of the new library (formerly the courthouse) since he had married Francis Folsom, who was from Pittsfield.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1892

Homestead Steel Strike

1892-06-30

The Homestead Steel Plant (owned by Andrew Carnegie who summered at Shadowbrook) was the site of a violent strike.  Pay was low and working conditions were terribly dirty and dangerous.

 

 

 

1893

Shadowbrook

1893

Anson Phelps stokes completed  Shadowbrook.  With 100 rooms it was the largest house in America for two years -- until George Washington Vanderbuilt completed his 250 room mansion -- Biltmore. It burned in 1956.

Ventfort Hall

1893

Sarah (sister of J.P. Morgan) and George Morgan built this Jacobean Revival summer house.  It was originally surrounded by gardens, two      gatehouses and a carriage house.

1902

TR Injured in Pittsfield

1902-09-03

A collision with a streetcar on a campaign trip to Pittsfield killed a secret service agent and injured President Theodore Roosevelt.  He spoke to the crowds that had formed at the Curtis Hotel in Lenox where he was staying.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1904

The Mount

1904

Edith Wharton, who became famous writing about the foibles of her social class, built a Lenox cottage with a design modern for its time.  It is now open to the public.

1903

GE Acquires Stanley Electric

1903

General Electric would expand to employ more than 15,000 during World War II.  GE provided not only well-paid manufacturing jobs but attracted highly educated engineers and other professionals to Pittsfield and nearby communities such as Lenox.

1909

Easter Fire in Downtown Lenox

1909-04-11

This fire wiped out the wooden retail stores from Main to Church and led to the formation of the Lenox Fire Dept.

1913

Income Tax

1913-02-25

The 16th Amendment makes income tax a permanent feature of the economics of the US. 

1929

Donation of Bird Sanctuary

1929

Mary Parsons purchased the Power farm and donated it as the Pleasant Valley Bird Sanctuary.  It would later be taken over by Mass Audubon.

Lenox School for Boys Opens

1929-09-22

The former estate of George G. Haven (Sunnycroft) was the first of several former "cottages" in the village occupied by The Lenox School for Boys.  Renamed Griswold Hall, It was demolished in 1938.

1931

Aspinwall Hotel Burns

1931-04

The Aspinwall Hotel was in what is now Kennedy Park facing South and would have had a beautiful view.

 

 

 

1934

Tanglewood Music Festival

1934-08-23

Then called The Berkshire Symphonic Festival, the first concert was actually the New York Philharmonic at the Dan Hanna farm.  Serge Kousevitsky and the Boston Symphony began performing in 1936.

1935

Modernism Comes to the Berkshires

1935

George L.K. Morris built a studio (which he would later share with his wife Suzy Frelinghuysen in a style consistent with his immersion in abstract art - very much in contrast to the staid, massive cottages.

1946

Eastover Becomes a Sports Oriented Resort

1946

Lenox also had the good fortune to attract a couple that saw the potential for a youthfully oriented resort in the former Fahnestock Mansion (1910) on East Street. In 1946 George Bisacca purchased the 500 acre property with a vision of a resort for singles (later families as well.) Bisacca made a significant investment in entertainment for the winter months with a rope tow and indoor swimming pool.  Currently the facility (Eastover) is, under new ownership, a resort focused on holistic health.

 

1948

Town Purchased the Private Lenox Water Company

1948

Private Investors and Then the Town Accumulated Watershed Acerage and Water Treatment Capabilities

1949

Route 7 Bypass

1949

Completion of the bypass allowed Lenox village to retain its quiet, turn of the century atmosphere with higher speed limits and trucks going on the bypass.

1950

Site of Music Inn Purchased

1950

Philip and Stephanie Barber purchase the estate of Countess de Heredra (Wheatleigh).  The music festival included many famous jazz, folk, and popular personalities and ran until 1979.

Festival House

1950

Claire and Bruno Aron purchased Ventfort Hall (then called Tracy Hall) in 1950.  They re-named it Festival House and, until 1961, managed it as an inn for Berkshire visitors who might not have been accepted at other lodgings.  Entertainment included art instruction,

classical music, famous folk singers, swimming and tennis.  It was a precursor of Lenox as a cultural vacation destination.

1957

Mass Turnpike Crosses Berkshire County

1957-05-15

 

Completion of the Mass Pike (as well as the rest of the interstate highway system) was a great boon to tourism in the 1950's and 1960's.

1961

Morris Elementary School

1961

In response to population growth, the town invested in a series of capital investments including a new k-6 school on West. St.  on land donated by the Morris Family and graced by an original mural by famous cubist George Morris.

1966

Lenox Memorial High School

1966

By 1966 Lenox's need for more classroom space as well as for facilities to support a modern curriculum had exceeded what the former high school (now Cameron House) and the new Lenox Memorial High School was built.

National Preservation Act

1966-10-15

1967

Lenox Bicentennial

1967

 

Lenox's bicentennial came at a time of prosperity and optimism for Western Massachusetts

1976

Bible Speaks Takes Over Lenox School Buildings

1976

 

Formerly the site of the Lenox School for Boys, now the site of Shakespeare and Company, this Kemble St. campus and other buildings were, until 1987, the home of Bible Speaks.

1977

A Bad Idea Averted

1977

In 1977 the town defeated a proposal to make the site of the former Shadowbrook a prison.  Today it is the site of Kripalu, a resort focused on Yoga and healthful living.

1978

Shakespeare and Company Founded

1978

 

Tina Packer formed Shakespeare and Co. which performed for a number of years at The Mount and took over the Lenox School for Boys/Bible Speaks campus in 2000.

1980

Restoration of The Mount Begins

1980

From 1948 to 1976 Edith Wharton's former home, The Mount, was occupied by The Foxhollow School for Girls.  Shakespeare and Company used the location starting in 1976.  In 1980 Edith Wharton Restoration took on the deterioration and neglected maintenance to create the beautiful house and grounds we see today.

Curtis Hotel Converted to Housing for the Elderly and Retail Shops

1980-05-01

Once a luxury gilded age hotel, a tavern or coffee house had been on this site since 1773 (originally called Williams House).  Business declined after mid-20th century and it became too expensive to maintain the building as a hotel (check Date)

1986

GE Transformer Plant in Pittsfield Closes

1986-11-22

Demand for the large transformers made in Pittsfield had declined for years.  General Electric was by far the most important employer in the area so the plant closing brought new economic challenges to Lenox and other nearby communities.

1994

Ventfort Hall Restoration Begins

1994

In a severely deteriorated condition, Ventfort Hall was threatened with demolition.  Fortunately a group of dedicated volunteers bought the property and took on the challenging work of restoration which goes on today..see the before and after  pictured here.  Ventfort Hall is now open for year-round tours and events.

1996

Housatonic River Cleanup Consent Decree

1996

2000

Shakespeare and Co. Purchases Bible Speaks

2000

Shakespeare and Company now conducts performances on two stages year round as well as providing educational opportunities for actors and students.  The Company, led by Tina Packer bought the former Bible Speaks/Lenox School for Boys campus on Kemble St. in 2000 after performing, starting in 1978, at The Mount.