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Lenox,
noted as a select fashionable resort, is situated among the hills
of Berkshire County, directly west of Boston, and separated only
from the State of New York by the town of Richmond, which forms
its western boundary. The Richmond Station on the Boston and Albany
Railroad is the nearest to the chief village on the western side.
Through the eastern part north and south, along the Housatonic
River, runs the Housatonic Rail-road, connecting with the Boston
and Albany at Pittsfield (adjoining on the north) and with the
Fitchburg at North Adams, with the Harlem Railroad from New York
city on the west, and the Connecticut lines on the south. The
valleys of the Housatonic, of the Yokun Brook and other affluents,
form the eastern and most of the northern parts of the town. Roaring
Brook comes down from the Hoosac range, which occupies the town
of Washington on the east. At the middle of the western line rises
Lenox Mountain, a peak of the Taconic range, which borders the
town on the west, and covers the southwest with its broad hills.
At the eastern base of Lenox Mountain is a wild and deep gorge
called "The Gulf." The principal rock is Levis limestone,
Lauzon schist and the Potsdam group. Iron ore, brown hematite,
and gibbsite frequently occur. Limestone is here quarried for
building purposes, and also reduced in kilns to quicklime. The
soil, especially in the valleys of the larger streams, is very
fertile; and the hills themselves are beautiful with shrubbery
and magnificent forests. The extent of the latter in the town
is stated at 3,029 acres, the assessed area being 11,882. The
aggregate product of the 114 farms in the last census year was
$172,433. At Lenox Furnace, a village on the river and on the
railroad, in the southeast part of the town, are a furnace for
making pig-iron, and the glass works, celebrated for their fine
plate-glass. Other manufactures of Lenox are lumber, flour and
meal, paper, leather, and the others common to towns. The aggregate
value of the goods made in the last census year was $235,371.
The number of assessed dwelling-houses is 444. The valuation in
1888 was $2,389,780. The population in 1875 was 1,845; and in
1885, 2,154 with 443 legal voters. All the villages have post-offices.
There are nine public school-houses, valued at nearly $18,000
and a public library of some 7,000 volumes. The Lenox Academy,
in this place, was founded in 1803. The Congregationalists, Methodists,
American Episcopal Church and the Roman Catholics have church
edifices in one or another of the villages.
New
Lenox is a growing village on the river and railroad in the northeast
part of the town. The principal village is Lenox-on-the Heights,
a little south of the centre of the town, and two miles from the
railroad station at Lenox Furnace This town was formerly the county
seat, and in consequence became the residence of many persons
of superior family. Here dwelt Miss Elizabeth Sedgewick and
here Fanny Kemble took up her abode, living for twenty
years (from 1850 to 1870) in the house she built and named "The
Porch." The place soon became a literary centre. William
Cullen Bryant had his home at Great Barrington; Dr. Oliver
Wendell Holmes was a dweller in Pittsfield; our poet Longfellow
and G. P. R. James, the novelist, were spending their summers
in Stockbridge, just below the heights on the south; Henry
Ward Beecher was writing his "Star Papers" at the
Rathbone Place; Herman Melville was at Pittsfield, where
he wrote his "Typee; " at the same place often sojourned
James Russell Lowell; Charlotte Cushman gave her
presence to both Lenox and Stockbridge; Nathaniel Hawthorne
wrote his "Scarlet Letter" at the little red house in
Lenox; and here in his last days came Dr. Channing. Thus
haunted by people of culture, and made familiar to people of eminence
and wealth through them, — with lofty altitude, smooth and
verdurous hills, and delicious air, it is no wonder that fashion
followed in the wake until it is the last to be missed in the
round of élite resorts. One of the most conspicuous objects
in the village is the fine old Congregational church which overlooks
it. Here, too, is the old court-house, transformed into the "Charles
Sedgewick Memorial Hall" and in its decrepitude sheltering
the public library, the ladies' club and an audience hall An elegant
new theatre was opened in September, 1889. Just southward from
the heights is a charming lake of some 250 acres, familiarly known
as "Stockbridge Basin," — the scene of many a quiet
sail or merry regatta. Away to the southeast, in the border of
Lee, is the race-ground of the Lenox Club. More constant than
any other entertainments are the balls and other social parties
in the roomy cottages of the summer sojourners.
The
town of Lenox (previously called Yokun or Yokuntown) was formerly
a part of Township No. 8, joined with Richmond (previously called
Mount Ephraim). It was established as the district of Lenox on
February 26, 1767, and incorporated as the town of Lenox by the
general act of August 23, 1775; It is supposed to have been named
in honor of the Duke of Lenox, who also bore the title of the
Duke of Richmond. The ancient local name for the place was Yokun,
from a sachem who dwelt there; the name being perpetuated by one
of the principal streams. Jonathan Hinsdale was the first
white settler, and built a house here about 1750. Others soon
followed, but owing to fear of the Indians, all soon removed to
Stockbridge. Subsequently some families of better pluck formed
a permanent settlement in the place. The first church was organized
in 1769, and the Rev. Samuel Munsen was ordained pastor
November 8, 1770.
The
original settlers of Yokuntown were Daniel Allen, Moses Ashley,
Jacob Bacon, Isaac Brown, Jonathan Bull, Christopher Cartwright,
Samuel Chrchill, Titus Curtis, Israel Dewey, Israel Dewey Jr.,
Solomon Glezen, Charles Goodrich, Samuel Goodrich, Eleanor Gunn,
Jonathan Hough, John Ingersoll, Daniel Jones, Elijah Jones, Josiah
Jones, Jr, Josiah Jones, Joseph Lee, Edward Martindale, Elisha
Martindale, Gershon Martindale, Stephen Nash, Stephen Nash, Jr.,
Moses Nash, Asa Noble, David Pixley, David Pixley Jr., Abraham
Root, Abel Rowe, Ashbel Treat, Timothy Treat, Ezra Whittlesey.
All the preceding held approximately 200 acres each. Note: Yokuntown
eventually was split off to the Town of Lenox.
Names
of the proprietors of the Country Grants were William Phillips
Esq of Boston, 120 acres, Israel Williams, Esq of Hatfield
260 acres, Judge Quincy ?hetts 1000 acres, Dr. William
Bull's heirs 200 acres, Lemuel Collins 500 acres, Rev
Peter Reynold's heirs 480 acres, Rev. Jonathan Edwards
333 acres, Elias Dickinson 210 acres, Elias Willard
140 acres, Noah Isbell 100 acres, Timothy Woodbridge
350 acres, Samuel Whilpley 100 acres, T Williams
200 acres, Rev. S. Williams 240 acres, Ed Gray 140
acres, Caleb Culon 140 acres, Sanford 200 acres,
Enos Stone 130 acres, Warham Edwards 160 acres,
Thomas Landers 140 acres, Samuel Lathrop 200 acres,
James Guthrie 123 acres, Joseph Wright 100 acres, Caleb
Bull 70 acres, Isaac Smith 50 acres, Samuel Jerome
Jr. 70 acres, Timothy Way 50 acres.
Nason
and Varney's Massachusetts Gazetteer, 1890, pp. 410-412
and
Pgs 183-187, History of Berkshire County, Massachusetts: with
biographical sketches of its prominent men, Volume 2, By Thomas
Cushing.
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