Lenox, Massachusetts
Lenox | ||
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FIPS code 25-34970 | | |
GNIS feature ID | 0618269 | |
Website | www |
Lenox is a town in
History
The area was inhabited by
For 2,250 pounds Josiah Dean purchased Lot Number 8, which included present-day Lenox and
Early industries included
The region's rustic beauty helped Lenox develop into an art colony. In 1821, author Catharine Sedgwick moved here, followed by actress Fanny Kemble. Nathaniel Hawthorne and his family came from Salem in 1850,[4] staying a year and a half. Other visitors to the area, including Timothy Dwight, Benjamin Silliman and Henry Ward Beecher, extolled its advantages. After an extension of the Housatonic Railroad arrived in 1838, tourists discovered the town in increasing numbers.
In 1844,
The imposition of the
The Shadowbrook property is now the Kripalu
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Lenox Library c. 1909
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Bellefontaine in 1912
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Curtis Hotel c. 1910
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Shadowbrook in 1908
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Lenox High School, 1908 building
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 21.7 square miles (56.1 km2), of which 21.2 square miles (55.0 km2) is land and 0.46 square miles (1.2 km2) is water. Lenox is bordered by Pittsfield to the north, Washington to the east, Lee to the southeast, Stockbridge to the southwest, and Richmond to the west. The town center is 8 miles (13 km) south of downtown Pittsfield, 45 miles (72 km) west-northwest of Springfield, and 125 miles (201 km) west of Boston.
Lenox is set apart from Richmond to the west by a branch of the
Routes 7 and 20 meet in the southern end of town, heading north along a bypass road towards Pittsfield. Massachusetts Route 7A, the original path of Route 7, passes through the center of town, with a short distance combined with Massachusetts Route 183, which begins near the start of the bypass road. The town center is 5 miles (8 km) from Exit 2 of the Massachusetts Turnpike (Interstate 90), the nearest interstate highway.
Along the Housatonic River, the
Demographics
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1850 | 1,599 | — |
1860 | 1,711 | +7.0% |
1870 | 1,965 | +14.8% |
1880 | 2,043 | +4.0% |
1890 | 2,889 | +41.4% |
1900 | 2,942 | +1.8% |
1910 | 3,060 | +4.0% |
1920 | 2,691 | −12.1% |
1930 | 2,742 | +1.9% |
1940 | 2,884 | +5.2% |
1950 | 3,627 | +25.8% |
1960 | 4,253 | +17.3% |
1970 | 5,804 | +36.5% |
1980 | 6,523 | +12.4% |
1990 | 5,069 | −22.3% |
2000 | 5,077 | +0.2% |
2010 | 5,025 | −1.0% |
2020 | 5,095 | +1.4% |
2022* | 5,064 | −0.6% |
* = population estimate. Source: United States census records and Population Estimates Program data.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] |
As of the
There were 2,212 households, out of which 22.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.6% were non-families. 36.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.84.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 20.8% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 22.8% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 24.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $85,581, and the median income for a family was $111,413. Males had a median income of $61,226 versus $55,063 for females. The
Government
Lenox employs the
On the state level, Lenox is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives by the Fourth Berkshire district, which covers southern Berkshire County, as well as the westernmost towns in Hampden County. In the Massachusetts Senate, the town is represented by the Berkshire, Hampshire and Franklin district, which includes all of Berkshire County and western Hampshire and Franklin Counties.[18] The town is patrolled by the First (Lee) Station of Barracks "B" of the Massachusetts State Police.[19]
On the national level, Lenox is represented in the United States House of Representatives as part of Massachusetts's 1st congressional district, and has been represented by Richard Neal since January 2013. Massachusetts is represented in the United States Senate by Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey.
Education
Lenox operates its own school system for the town's 800 students. It is the only town in the county whose schools do not have a formal tuition agreement with any other town (other students may attend, however). Morris Elementary School houses students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, and Lenox Memorial Middle and High School houses students through twelfth grade. In 1966 Lenox Memorial High School moved from its 1908 building to a new campus co-located with the town's middle school.[20] The school's athletic teams are called the "Millionaires", in acknowledgement of the town's history, and their colors are maroon and gold. The school's longtime rivals are the Lee Wildcats. Additionally, Lenox is home to two special education schools (Valleycrest School and the Hillcrest Center), as well as private schools, Berkshire Christian, which serves students from pre-kindergarten through grade 8, Berkshire Country Day School, which serves students from pre-kindergarten through ninth grade, and The Montessori School of the Berkshires, which serves toddlers through middle school students.
The nearest community college is Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield. The nearest state colleges are Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, and Westfield State University. The nearest private college is Bard College at Simon's Rock in Great Barrington.
Sites of interest
- Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum
- Church on the Hill
- Frelinghuysen Morris House and Studio
- Kripalu Center
- Lenox Railroad Station
- The Mount (Edith Wharton estate)
- The Museum of the Gilded Age at Ventfort Hall
- Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary
- Yokun Ridge
- Shakespeare & Company
- Tanglewood
- Ventfort Hall
- Bellefontaine
Notable people
- Alice Brock, artist and restaurateur
- Andrew Carnegie, industrialist
- Giraud Foster, socialite and industrialist
- David Greetham, textual scholar
- Frank T. Hassa, Wisconsin State Assemblyman
- Nathaniel Hawthorne, writer
- Fanny Kemble, actress and writer
- George M. Landers, congressman
- Rose Hawthorne Lathrop, social worker
- Bernadette Mayer, poet
- George Morell, jurist
- Charles Henry Parkhurst, Congregational minister
- John Paterson, general and congressman
- Gilmore Schjeldahl, American businessman and inventor
- Catharine Sedgwick, writer
- William L. Shirer, journalist and historian
- Maureen Stapleton, actress
- Anson Phelps Stokes, financier
- James Taylor, singer-songwriter and guitarist
- George Westinghouse, industrialist
- Edith Wharton, writer
- Robert Shaw Sturgis Whitman, Episcopal clergyman
- James Van Der Zee, photographer
- Grenville Lindall Winthrop, art collector and philanthropist
- Jennie Louise Touissant Welcome, artist, photographer, and filmmaker
- Finn Wittrock, actor
See also
References
- ^ "Census – Geography Profile: Lenox town, Berkshire County, Massachusetts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
- ^ "Native American Life in Massachusetts After European Contact". Lenox History. December 22, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
- ^ "About the Town of Lenox". Lenox Library. June 25, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
- ISBN 0-87745-332-2
- ^ Gay, Frederick. "Distribution of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in the Housatonic River and Adjacent Aquifer, Massachusetts" (PDF). USGS. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
- ^ "Total Population (P1), 2010 Census Summary File 1". American FactFinder, All County Subdivisions within Massachusetts. United States Census Bureau. 2010.
- ^ "Massachusetts by Place and County Subdivision - GCT-T1. Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ^ "1990 Census of Population, General Population Characteristics: Massachusetts" (PDF). US Census Bureau. December 1990. Table 76: General Characteristics of Persons, Households, and Families: 1990. 1990 CP-1-23. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ^ "1980 Census of the Population, Number of Inhabitants: Massachusetts" (PDF). US Census Bureau. December 1981. Table 4. Populations of County Subdivisions: 1960 to 1980. PC80-1-A23. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ^ "1950 Census of Population" (PDF). Bureau of the Census. 1952. Section 6, Pages 21-10 and 21-11, Massachusetts Table 6. Population of Counties by Minor Civil Divisions: 1930 to 1950. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ^ "1920 Census of Population" (PDF). Bureau of the Census. Number of Inhabitants, by Counties and Minor Civil Divisions. Pages 21-5 through 21-7. Massachusetts Table 2. Population of Counties by Minor Civil Divisions: 1920, 1910, and 1920. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ^ "1890 Census of the Population" (PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. Pages 179 through 182. Massachusetts Table 5. Population of States and Territories by Minor Civil Divisions: 1880 and 1890. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ^ "1870 Census of the Population" (PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. 1872. Pages 217 through 220. Table IX. Population of Minor Civil Divisions, &c. Massachusetts. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ^ "1860 Census" (PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. 1864. Pages 220 through 226. State of Massachusetts Table No. 3. Populations of Cities, Towns, &c. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ^ "1850 Census" (PDF). Department of the Interior, Census Office. 1854. Pages 338 through 393. Populations of Cities, Towns, &c. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
- ^ "City and Town Population Totals: 2020–2022". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ "Senators and Representatives by City and Town". Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved February 29, 2008.
- ^ Station B-1, SP Lee
- ^ "Lenox Histoey, Lenox Academy". January 26, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
External links
- Lenox, Massachusetts travel guide from Wikivoyage
- Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). 1911. p. 419. .
- Town of Lenox official website Archived June 29, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
- Lenox Library
- Lenox Chamber of Commerce